Childhood Relapse
by smiles555fofo
Summary: Eight-year-old Sena's parents died from a car crash. Eight-year-old Sena was parentless and emotionally scarred. Sena would be led out of her misery as the right people came. FEM!Sena and Stronger!Sena x all
1. Mamori

Childhood Relapse

Summary: AU Eight-year-old Sena's parents died from a car crash. Eight-year-old Sena was parentless and emotionally scarred. Sena would be led out of her misery as the right people came. FEM!Sena & Stronger!Sena x all

Warning: Female Sena who will grow up to somewhat OC. Of course, when these kinds of things happen to you in life, you would be OC.

Disclaimer: I don't want to get sued! AKA: I don't own ES21. DUR.

* * *

Chapter 1: Mamori

* * *

Sena, eight years old, had survived from a car crash responsible for the death of her parents.

The little girl, severely injured when a metal pipe stabbed through her body, was paralyzed emotionally as she witnessed through teary eyes her parents engulfed into the blazing fire, and noticed that their blood had tinted the gray smoke. She had also breathed in a lot of the smoke, causing her lungs to suffocate from the lack of cleaner air. She shivered and shook violently, and the doctors did what they could to save her life.

Sena, eight years old, had survived from a near death and was taken in by her mother's close friend, Anezaki Amy. Anezaki Amy was half-American and half-Japanese, her father being American and her mother Japanese. When she moved to Japan, she had befriended Mihae from their high school years to their adulthood. It was only a matter of time when they would let their children meet each other, and unfortunately, dear Mihae wouldn't be there to see it.

Amy smiled sadly at the frail child. "Sena-chan?" she whispered.

Sena responded by looking up with those big, blank eyes, and Amy felt a wave of sympathy. She took it hard when she heard her friend died, and experiencing such loss was…difficult. However, she would never know what it would be like to be in the little girl's shoes—and she was _eight_ for goodness sake!

The woman squeezed Sena's fingers a little bit tighter. "Are you ready to meet my daughter?"

She nodded—no nervousness in her nod or a shy smile. Ever since she was released from the hospital, the Sena she knew before was gone, only to be replaced with this solemn child. Amy suppressed a sigh and tears for the girl. She really wished that she could do something for Sena just to erase that sadness that was eating her away.

"Okay then." Amy opened the door and entered, bringing Sena with her. "Mamori!"

There were footsteps, and then soon a girl taller than Sena appeared. She looked just like her mother, only younger and shorter. Her bright eyes emitted warmth and her silky hair was in the same color as the woman's. An almost replica of her mother, nevertheless.

Her eyes landed onto the tiny form that hid behind her mother's back. "Mom, who is this?" she asked curiously.

"This is Sena. She'll be staying with us for a while."

Mamori's head tilted. "How long will that be?"

_Till her graduation…The poor thing… _"Quite awhile. Anyway, while Sena-chan is staying here, I hope that you will treat her kindly, okay, Mamori?"

Her daughter nodded. "I will, Mom."

* * *

But it was so hard to.

Not that Mamori had ever been hostile to the younger girl; it was just that Sena was so…distant. She wasn't like any of the other kids she was usually surrounded with. Sena lacked that kind of air…

What was it…? Silliness? Laughter? Hesitance?

Mamori had never seen anyone so empty. It was as if the emotions were sucked right out of her. It was as if she actually _enjoyed_ her silence. Normally, her classmates who were quiet were rather shy and admired those who were able to be outgoing, but Sena was different. She would sit next to a window and stare outside, but her eyes wouldn't concentrate on the houses afar or the people walking by—her eyes were looking beyond that. Sena have super vision to see miles away or was pondering very deeply for an eight-year-old.

Only eight years old and Mamori could feel some sort of maturity emanating from her. Sena was still immature, like how most eight-year-olds should be, but was still very different. It was as if she had an incredible and distressing secret that was stressful to keep, and it was as if her life depended on it.

There were times where Mamori would try to talk to Sena, get to know her better and get her to open up. Perhaps she was actually lonely and shy. Perhaps that was the reason to why she was wallowing up in her quiet corner. But she was wrong.

Sena would look at her with those blank eyes and expression, misery marring her face, and she would answer with gestures—a nod, a shake of her head, shrugging. There wasn't much to say or do with the younger girl, so Mamori gave up. Her parents, on the other hand, were still determined to get her active, but Sena shot down every chance.

But this one day in particular had made a difference.

It was Sena's first day of school. Mamori grinned boldly as the frail child walked out of the house looking adorable in her new outfit that Mamori had picked out for her. Her mother giggled about what a talent her daughter had, and the little redhead beamed at the two of them. Sena made no motion of emotion.

Stiff as a statue, as always.

It was Sena's third year and Mamori's fourth year in elementary school, and Mamori was excited. She exit out of the house while holding Sena's hand, and then rushed all the way to their school. Even though she had given up on the girl, Mamori still cared about her. Sena, even if she never made any signs of warming up, had made the older girl see her as a baby sister. The rest of the Anezaki saw Sena as a daughter of their own.

"Okay, Sena-chan, this is your classroom. Mine is the hallway to the right," Mamori told the younger girl. Sena bobbed her head. "Alrighty then. If you need me, don't hesitate calling me!" She hugged her and waved goodbye.

When school had ended, Mamori skipped to Sena's homeroom. She wasn't there, but her backpack was.

She went to the play area. Sena wasn't there either.

Then she went to the back of the school, and found a group of older boys surrounding a fallen Sena.

"S-Sena-chan!" Mamori cried, rushing to her side. "Leave her alone!"

After defeating the cowardly bullies, she turned to Sena and her eyes widened with surprise. Sena was curled into a ball, all dirty. Her face was blank as ever, but the gushing streams of tears made the difference.

"Sena-chan, a-are you okay?" Mamori asked.

Sena shook her head and clung onto Mamori's shirt. "Sorry," she murmured.

Mamori defended Sena for three years until she graduated to middle school.


	2. Unsui

Childhood Relapse

* * *

Chapter 2: Unsui

* * *

Midway in her third year, Sena was continuously picked on by bullies. Mamori did her best to chase them away, but unfortunately she couldn't be with her all the time, like in class. And because of that, they took advantage of it and Sena was eventually dubbed as a gopher for the bullies.

And she had grown adjusted to the position.

"Stupid trash."

Midway in her third year, Sena was continuously avoided by her fellow classmates. Because of her quietness and unsocial behavior, she didn't gain a friend, despite how many times Mamori would insist that Sena should open up to people.

Sena had grown adjusted to this as well.

But it wasn't as if it was a purposeful thing for her to do—Sena, inwardly, was shy. She didn't want to risk making an uncharacteristic move just to be recognized by the people around her, and so she stayed put in her little corner.

But she did behave differently in her new home—an amazing improvement. Towards the Anezaki's, Sena was more sociable, now responding with words instead of gestures, but her sentences were still not much.

"Oi, stupid trash."

It was still a miracle in Amy's book, nevertheless. The mother was worried that the little girl would remain mute forever, but she figured that with a little more time and energy she would eventually get her to speak.

"Wake up."

"Agon, leave him be."

"But Unko-chan, we can't bring him home."

Midway in her third year, Sena had grown closer to Mamori, Amy, and Hideki. Mamori's parents told Sena that she could call them whatever she wanted to call them—Mama, Papa, Mommy, Daddy, Mr., Mrs., whatever. Sena didn't dare to because she wasn't sure what to refer them as.

Amy wanted Sena to call her Mama.

Hideki wanted Sena to call him Daddy.

Mamori wanted Sena to call her Nee-chan.

The trio wanted Sena to be happy, but that would be impossible. Sena would always have that large, empty hole in her heart. It was hollowed when she heard her mother scream in agony. It was hollowed when she seen her father desperately waving the fire off of him. It was hollowed when her parents shielded her from the explosion, dying to save her. It was hollowed when she saw them die right before her eyes, their blood pouring out.

"Well, we can't just leave him."

"Sure we can. Just lay him on that bench and let's get out of here."

"Agon! I'm not leaving him. What if some weirdo takes him instead?"

"I think _you're_ the weirdo…"

"What was that?"

"Mom is gonna go batty when she sees you with the trash."

"Stop calling him that! And Mom wouldn't!"

And midway in her third year, Sena wondered what it would be like to die alongside her parents.

"She would so."

"Would not."

"Would too."

"Would not."

"Would too."

"Would not!"

"Would too, and you know it!"

"No, you're just making up ridiculous bluff. Now stop annoying me," the older twin barked, shifting the weight on his back.

The younger twin scowled and turned away. "Che."

The child squirmed and forced her eyes to open. "Ah…"

Agon looked up. "The stupid trash is awake."

"Stop calling him that," Unsui sighed. He felt the weight move and stopped. "No, he was just disturbed from your loud voice."

He scowled at the older boy. "How about you shut up!"

* * *

Sena felt a wave of exhaustion, but forced her eyes to open. She was staring at a ceiling, and immediately she knew she wasn't at the Anezaki residence. Sena sat up, draped with a blanket. Her clothes were bedraggled along with her hair, and her cheeks felt flushed. Sena touched one redden cheek and sighed.

Wait—her hair.

Her hair…why does that seem to be something of importance…?

"Are you alright?"

A boy with a shaved head looked at her concernedly.

Sena didn't say anything but shrugged. She didn't even know what to say. She didn't know what was going on.

"I found you unconscious in the park." He then frowned disapprovingly. "You shouldn't have been alone, you know. And sleeping out in the middle of nowhere is a stupid thing to do—what if there was a weirdo about to kidnap you?"

Who was this person?

Sena scratched her hair, and then froze. Her hair was very short.

And it dawned on her.

She was surrounded by bullies. They dragged her into a park, pinned her down, and snipped her long hair until it was a mop-like style. She was crying furiously, hating what they had done to her. The bullies were annoyed with her, so they thrown her down a steep hill. Her head collided hardly against the ground after her little freefall, and the last thing she recalled were the sneers and laughter of the older boys.

Then she remembered stepping inside a train—a faint yet familiar sensation of being inside the compacted moving room—because her harassers threatened her an "or else", dragging her to a foreign place. And she knew that she was far from home.

The boy who knelt beside the couch, beside the girl, widened his eyes from surprise to see Sena's tears streaking down her flushed face, however, her expression was unreadable. Blank.

"Um, what's wrong?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Another boy with the same face as the one next to her—only with longer hair—snorted and strolled towards them. "The trash is annoyed about you badgering him."

"Agon, keep out of this," the hairless boy snapped irritably.

"It's the truth. We can't help it when you're annoying." The other boy, Agon, shrugged nonchalantly.

"At least I'm _responsible_."

"At being annoying? Why yes you are."

"You two, enough!" ordered an older voice, and Sena flinched. A woman strutted into the room, a tired expression on her face, but that aside Sena noticed how pretty she was. Mamori's mother was pretty too, but this lady was prettier.

"He started it," the two muttered simultaneously.

"I don't care who started it. Both of you, _quiet._" She faced Sena and put on a small smile. "I'm sorry, sweetie, but my twins can't help but be loud. I'm Kongo Miki, by the way." She sat on the other end of the couch and began introducing the rest. "Unsui here was the one who brought you in, and Agon there was the one who…suggested calling the police, was it?"

"To send the trash away," Agon grumbled.

"Agon," Miki said warningly.

"I'm the older twin and Agon is my little brother," Unsui piped.

"I'm not little," Agon snapped. "I'm taller than you!"

"No you're not."

"Yes I am."

"No you're not."

"Yes I am."

"No, I know that you are _not_."

"I _am_."

"_No_."

"_Yes_."

"Mom!"

"Mom!"

"_Enough_!" Sena ducked under the covers as the woman glared at the two. Surprisingly, the two weren't cowardly hiding like how Sena reacted, but winced at the sharpness of her tone. "Agon, get me my pills and glass. Unsui, find clothes for the boy to wear."

"Even the underwear?"

"Use Agon's if you have to."

"Hey!" the boy with hair cried out.

"On it." Unsui saluted and dashed off.

"Mom, I don't want some trash wearing my…my _boxers_," Agon protested, setting a glass of water and two pills onto the coffee table.

Miki rolled her eyes. "I'll have him wear the ones that you outgrew, like the Hello Kitty ones you used to be ever so fond of."

Agon's face flushed hotly. "_Mom!_"

"So what's your name, sweetie?" Miki drowned the pills with water, ignoring her son who was pouting childishly.

Sena stared at her lap, considering on not saying anything. She never did say anything when she was at school, and sometimes at the Anezaki's. She always kept to herself, never engaging into conversations but hear them. She didn't really know how conversations functioned. What motivated the other person to continue the dialogue when one wasn't asking? How could they continue talking when there were no more questions to ask or to answer?

But since Sena was asked a question, she supposed that she should answer. After all, she was the one who intruded this woman's home, even though it wasn't as if she was conscious of doing it.

"K-K-Kobayakawa S-Sena," she answered in a small voice.

"What's that, dear?"

"Ko-Kobayakawa Sena," she repeated.

"Sena-kun, huh?" The woman tucked a tendril behind her ear and smiled. "You can call me Baa-chan."

"Pfft," Agon snickered. "That makes you sound old, Mom. Or should I say Granny?"

"Agon, go draw the bath for Sena-kun," his mother ordered.

"What? But why should he get first serve when he doesn't even live here?"

"Because he's a guest, now shoo."

Sena winced as the older boy shot her a glare before stomping away, and then looked up when the weight of the couch was lifted.

"Come on, Sena-kun, let Baa-chan fix that nasty haircut of yours," Baa-chan said, grinning.

The woman led Sena to the kitchen. She laid out newspapers and a stool, ushering Sena to sit on it as she draped a cloth over her shoulders.

"Honestly, whoever gave you that haircut must have been blind," Miki snorted while rummaging through her drawers. "I mean, the locks are obviously lopsided, and one side is much shorter than the other."

Sena felt through her hair again, not really knowing what was wrong with it other than it was just shorter than her previous lengthened hair. It was an unfamiliar new weight on her head—or rather the weight had been pulled away, leaving her with these ugly strands. And then she realized that because her hair was snipped rather shortly, everyone thought that she was a boy.

A boy.

The twins and the mother thought Sena was a boy.

The little girl's eyes drifted from the cabinet beneath the sink to her lap once more. Her tiny fists clenched her dusty pants, and took immediate notice of the tear in the cloth that ran up to her mid thigh. These were the pants that Amy had given her and she ruined them…

Her chin was lifted up, being raised by Baa-chan's finger. "Now, Sena-kun, how am I supposed to give you a decent cut when you're hiding those pretty eyes of yours?" Sena blushed and Miki gave her a strange look, then realization was shown on her face. "Oh! Silly me!" she laughed openly. "I forgot that boys don't like being called pretty, huh?"

No, that wasn't the reason. It was because no one other than the Anezaki's had complimented her before.

Sena watched as pieces of her hair fell onto the newspapers, and more of that weight was being lifted off of her head. Then the woman lightly brushed her hair and then pulled Sena up. "I think Unsui had your clothes picked out, and Agon should have already drawn a bath."

She took Sena's hand and walked upstairs. Unsui went to his mother, his arms full of clothing and towels. "Hey, Mom, Agon prepared the bath. Can I bathe with him?" Unsui asked, gesturing to her.

"Sure thing."

There was something wrong with this. Should Sena tell them that she was a girl? Inwardly, she was panicking, but managed to keep this unapparent, only following quietly behind Unsui who was humming idly.

She wasn't sure if it would be appropriate for her to be in the same tub as this boy who she barely knew. And a boy for that matter! However, Mamori had taken baths with her father, so she supposed that it would be fine. Sena just knew—and it was merely an intuition—that she wasn't allowed to do so when she's older.

"Hey, what's your name?"

She blinked at the boy who turned his attention at her.

"You know my mom, brother, and me, so who're you?"

"Kobayakawa Sena," she answered.

He nodded. "Mom gave you a haircut," he stated.

"Y-yes."

"Looks good on you."

Sena blushed again. "Th-thank you."

Silence.

The only things audible were the footsteps and Unsui sighing softly.

Unsui then entered a room—the bathroom—and told Sena to wait outside. She nodded and watched the boy's form disappear as the hot misty air consumed him. Finally, he popped out his head and told Sena that she could take off her clothes.

At first, she was reluctant to do so, but her body felt so sticky and filthy that the idea of bathing seemed overwhelming. She entered the bathroom, avoiding seeing Unsui stripping, and peeled off her clothes. The fog was heavy enough to make some parts of her body invisible, the same going for Unsui. She was relieved, though was wondering why.

Surely boys' bodies are not that different from girls', right?

They had arms, legs, faces, and so forth, only with most boys being taller and bigger than most girls. And most boys had short hair while most girls had long hair. Did this mean that Sena had turned into a boy?

She was confused now, but decided to think about it later. Perhaps when she becomes older, she would learn about the meaning of genders and their differences.

"Here's the shampoo and soap," Unsui said, and she felt something nudge against her arm. She accepted the items and followed the boy who laid out two short stools. He gestured her to come and sit down, and she did so.

"I'll wash your back while you wash your hair, 'kay?" he said.

Sena nodded.

Despite them being boy ad girl, even when Unsui wasn't aware of it, Sena felt comfortable around him. He seemed to be kind enough, kinder than his brother and her bullies who were all boys. Come to think about it, Unsui did appear to be nicer than most boys, but it could be that he didn't know she was a girl. Perhaps boys were only nicer to other boys.

That did seem logical. Sena didn't fail seeing how the boys in Mamori's grade often teasing her, touching her hair, flipping her skirt, and make weird faces at her. She heard from a pair of girl friends that the male counterparts all had a crush on Mamori, which was utterly ridiculous. Obviously they didn't like her because of the things they did to her; if they did like her, they would be much more pleasant around her.

It would be like considering that her bullies liked Sena, and that would be weird.

"Okay, now you wash my back," Unsui said.

"D-do you n-n-need shampoo?" Sena asked unintentionally, and then blushed.

"I probably would if I didn't shave it all off," he laughed.

Sena decided that she liked his laugh.

As she started scrubbing his back, Unsui asked, "So do you live around here?"

"…I…don't th-think so…"

"What do you mean?"

She shrugged, but then remembered that Unsui's back was turned, so she said, "I took a train."

"All by yourself?" She didn't detect the incredulity of his voice and she proceeded washing the broader shoulders.

"N-no," she murmured. "Kids from my school t-took me."

"Why?"

She paused. "I dunno."

"But there must be some reason," he insisted. "Were they going to take you somewhere in particular?"

_Please stop asking_. "I dunno."

"Well, what _do_ you know?"

_This is so troublesome._ "I dunno."

"Did you loose some of your memories?" he said exasperatedly.

"I dunno."

"Then can you tell me why you were unconscious in the park?"

She was about to repeat the same phrase but was afraid of causing more irritation for the boy. So she answered, "I fell."

"You fell," he repeated skeptically.

She lowered the scrubbing to the center of his back. "Yes."

"Well then…if you fell, then you should be more careful. Always pay attention to where you are walking, otherwise you might accidentally trip and fall. You were lucky that time—you could have fallen into a beehive or something."

She blinked. "There was…?"

"I dunno, but there could've been!" When Sena finished washing, he took the sprayer and sprinkled water over his body, and then handed to Sena. "Not only you should be aware of your path, but you should also know that some places you cannot enter without adult supervision. If you go by yourself, then who knows what will happen! Some weirdo could have come and snatched you away, and using you as blackmail material."

"Blackmail?"

"Yeah, blackmail. Stuff that would make people go weak because that person has the information they didn't want to be known to public." He tapped his chin and frowned. "Well, in your case, he would use you as an exchange for money."

Sena nodded, not entirely understanding what the boy was talking about. It sounded gibberish, and the only words that she could make out of the explanation were "blackmail" and "money".

When Sena and Unsui had washed away the suds, they entered the tub and relaxed in the hot water.

"Ne, Sena."

"H-Hai?"

"Do you think that your parents would be worried about you going missing?" he asked, eyeing her curiously.

Sure, if they were still alive. Sure, if they had the moment to live it. Sure, if they weren't so busy getting applications to heaven. Sure, why not?

Though her parents were dead, she still had Amy, Mamori, and Hideki, no? Surely they must be worried about her sake. But Sena didn't care—she felt empty. It was strange. There were times where she would get a full sensation—as if her stomach was bulging with emotion. And there would be other times where she would be the same after being released from the hospital—empty. There was a void somewhere inside that needed to be filled, otherwise she'll fall into it and be trapped forever. But during the times when the void is temporarily filled, she felt tentative and wary, as if something would go wrong because she's experiencing emotion again.

Before she could answer, there was a slam. Agon, who was naked but only his chest and up were visible due to the fog, dived into the tub, splashing their faces.

"Ack! Agon!" Unsui growled.

"Man, this feels good," Agon sighed contentedly, surfacing from the waters and slouched in a lazy position.

His older brother frowned disapprovingly. "Did you even wash yourself?"

"Of course I did. I take good care of my hygiene, so don't worry about me dirtying the water, Unko-chan."

"Don't call me that," the older Kongo twin groaned.

"Why? Because the trash is here?"

"Stop calling Sena trash; he is not."

"I'll call the trash whatever I want," Agon sneered, giving Sena a fixed glare, who ducked away.

What had she done to make him hate her so much?

* * *

"Sena-kun, your family name is Koyabakawa, right?"

She nodded.

"Okay, I just wanted to make sure. I need it to contact with your parents," Miki said.

"A…A-ano…B-Baa-chan…" Sena murmured, looking at the floor. She wasn't used saying the name that rolled off her tongue.

"What is it, Sena-kun?"

"You c-c-can contact th-the Anezaki's too."

Because, after all, her parents were dead.

Unsui took her to his room, in which he shared with Agon. There were two beds pushed against the opposite walls, and in between was a futon.

"You sleep there," the boy said, pointing to it.

Sena nodded.

He raised an eyebrow and his lips turned downwards, but shook his head and sighed. Turning away from the girl, he walked to the closet and pulled out a pillow, and then tossed it to her.

"Mom said that you'll be staying here for a while until you are founded by your family."

"And what a good riddance that would be," drawled Agon's voice. Agon was leaning against the door, looking uninterested, but when they eyes met he scowled and looked away.

Sena pursed her lips into a thin line and managed sealing way her sobs.

She didn't like Kongo Agon.

She didn't notice Unsui switching his exasperation from Agon to Sena, considering on helping her grow a backbone. When he picked her up in the first place, he thought it was a lost fight, not a bully treatment. So it wasn't a boy who was quick to relatliate, but a boy who hung his head to avoid talking and facing the world, this Sena. He definitely was considering it.


	3. Agon

Childhood Relapse

* * *

Chapter 3: Agon

* * *

It had been about three weeks and Miki was still unsuccessful on finding the Kobayakawa's or the Anezaki's. There was no one with that name in this district no matter how much she searched. Could it be that Sena wasn't from here but another part of town?

Unsui did mention about Sena taking a train by kids of his school, which was interpreted as bullies, the mother and son decided. It was rather obvious, anyway. A withdrawn, timid boy such as Sena would be never daring as to willingly take the train to somewhere far and unknown. Children such as Sena were obvious victims for bullying, so it should be no surprise to her and her sons.

However, in Miki's eyes, she believed that Sena, although he wasn't willing to go anywhere and was pushed around by his harassers, was a boy who would grow up to be someone with tons of courage and determination. Sena would be cynical and still have that blank expression, nevertheless—the absence of facial movement seemed to be permanent, and with her boys slowly influencing the younger boy…well, Sena would have Agon's nonchalance and Unsui's skeptics. Hopefully he would be like a mother hen—which was Unsui—than a haughty competitor—which was Agon.

Sena was like a sheet of paper—blank, like his expressions, and uninfluenced, like his innocence and naivety. A white paper can be colored in any assortment of colors, and Sena could be easily stained. Miki hoped that her twins were the right people for Sena to be around with, coloring the boy with bright or calm colors than disturbing or dark ones.

There was a big change in Sena, Miki had noticed, ever since he had awakened from his nap when Unsui had brought him in. And it was good! Sena talked more than doing an impression of a person with duct-tape on his mouth and not even aware of it. And it was so refreshing so see the boy laughing along with Agon and Unsui, talking and tumbling and just…just being how a boy should be. Sena was very different before then.

"Gah! Get offa me, Agon!"

Miki peeked through the doors, seeing Sena being crushed underneath Agon's weight, and her boy was straddling him and smirking proudly.

"I won!" he declared.

"Agon, off of Sena right now!" Unsui ordered irritably.

"Make me!"

"Come _on_," Sena whined, "you weigh a ton!"

The mother giggled behind her hand, finding the play to be funny and cute. This was one of the rare times for Sena to get loud, the noise usually caused by Agon. They were adorable, those two. Unsui and Sena looked cute together too, and this made Miki sigh. It was unfortunate that Sena was a boy; if Sena were to be a girl, she was sure that the child would have a love triangle going on.

"Stop it, Unko-chan!"

"Then get off of Sena. Obviously, he doesn't like it!"

Sena squirmed. "I'm," he panted, "_dying_!"

The relationship between Agon and Sena has definitely improved. Miki knew that Agon was hostile towards Sena, especially during that rough-housing one day, but afterwards things had settled and she knew the reason why.

* * *

Before Agon and Sena played with one another, they avoided one another.

For three days straight, Agon had blatantly mocked Sena, and Sena would stare vacantly on the floor, suppressing hurt feelings. Even though she wasn't at school, she would always have a spare bully on her case.

Taunt, glare, snort, glower, mock, frown, and every other hostile synonyms fitting in the category would be welcomed by Agon as he practices them on poor Sena.

Trash, trash, trash, trash. That's what he often called her, and other times he would call her by her given name, which would be obviously unintentional. Of course Agon wouldn't willingly use her name.

Sena prayed for her to be found by the Anezaki's very soon. Eating and sleeping underneath the same roof as Agon was excruciating! She just wanted to get away from here.

And then nearing to the end of the third day, Sena had unintentionally angered Agon all because she appeared to be not unnerved by the comments delivered to her, maintaining her outward composure. It was when they were about to settle down into their respectable beds, and as Agon said his final offense for the day, Sena ignored him completely. Agon was so infuriated by the girl's behavior that he rose out of his bed and stepped before her.

And he swung his fist at her jaw.

"A-Agon!" she heard Unsui shout.

Sena tumbled backwards and landed on her bottom. She caressed her bruised cheek with one hand and looked at Agon with widened eyes that read shock. Definitely wasn't suspecting that reaction from him.

"Why don't you do anything?" Agon spat at the girl. "You don't like it when I call out at you and yet you do a nothing! What the hell is the matter with you?"

"Boys?" Miki appeared at the door looking concerned. When her eyes landed on Sena, she pressed her hand onto her forehead and sighed, "Agon, you didn't…"

"Mom, he didn't," Unsui said quickly.

She narrowed her eyes at the eldest twin. "Don't try defending for your brother, Unsui."

His eyes moved to the floor, guilty.

After Miki's lecture, she took Agon to her room, leaving Unsui and Sena alone. Unsui was still staring at the floor. The tension was awkward, but still scary. He then looked up when there were sobs originating from Sena's form of a curled ball.

"S-Sena?"

Sena didn't speak. Sena just cried and cried.

Unsui didn't know what to do, so he crept back to bed. Later, he was overwhelmed with exhaustion that he fell asleep.

* * *

Sena sat there in the cold. She was in her bed but couldn't sleep. Not after what happened a few hours ago. She just stared blankly before her, repeating a wish in her head persistently.

_I want to go home. _

Home—back to where her family was. No, not the Anezaki family, but her real family. Back into the arms of her mother and father. Back to when everything was right. Back before everything had turned wrong.

_I want to go home. _

There was a weight on her futon and Sena looked up. Unsui slipped down from his bed and sat across from her. He bit his lower lip before asking sleepily, "Are…you okay?"

Sena made no response.

"I'm not okay either," he murmured, rubbing his drowsy eyes. "Agon never…did that, except when a kohai spilled milk all over his shirt. I think it was by accident though." He crossed his legs comfortably. "But even if it was by accident, Agon wouldn't care either way."

She tucked her legs closer to her body, looking directly at Unsui for the first time.

Unsui smiled, and it didn't even feel forced.

The two sat in silence for ten minutes, and that's when the older boy decided to speak.

"When Agon acts like how he usually does, it means that he wants to prove to others that he is tough and not afraid." Unsui shook his head. "In actuality, he is unsure and a bit nervous, but he had been masking it for so long that he really believes he is all that when he's not."

So that chest-puffing, sneering, bravado…everything was fake…?

"Why?" Sena whispered.

"Huh?"

"Why is he nervous?"

"Because…" Unsui rubbed his neck and asked, "Can you promise me not to ever tell this to anyone?"

Sena's eyes widened, but she nodded.

"Okay," he sighed. "When we were five, our dad…he left our family."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean…he abandoned us. He doesn't love us anymore. So, in a sense, our dad is not really our dad."

"B-but…How—why?"

He shrugged. "Mom said that he just doesn't want to be with us. It kind of makes sense since he hardly seemed like a father anyway."

Sena tried to imagine her own father leaving her mother and herself, but couldn't. Her father…She couldn't exactly say that he is the strongest, smartest, bravest father ever—once, she heard him shriek because there was a gigantic rat that scurried across the living room. But she knew that he was loving, always caring about his family and would never dare to leave them.

Sena couldn't understand what it is like to have a father who doesn't care, but she understood what it is like to loose one.

"Agon told me that he was confused and frustrated—he always looked up to him, admired him, but the truth hurt so much that he fell apart," Unsui explained, smiling sadly. "He told me that he didn't know who he was anymore and didn't care either way. I think he became desperate, so he built his own character."

"Then how did it affect you?" Sena asked.

"I…I never liked my dad. Actually, I hated him because he never seemed to be the kind of dad I wanted. When he left, my first thought was, 'Good riddance', but Agon took it differently, obviously."

"Did you really think that when you were five?" she said skeptically, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, not exactly like it. I was relieved, I think."

She nodded. She didn't understand Unsui, wanting to get rid of a father, but then again, she never experienced the lack of love of a family member. A wave of sadness and sympathy hit Sena, but her expression remained unchanged. It felt that it would hurt if she would frown or smile.

"Agon didn't want to be seen as weak," Unsui suddenly said. "He didn't want to be proven that he was, so he acted as if he wasn't. He did it to get admiration, but only getting fear, but it doesn't matter since he gets the notion of being superior to others, anyway."

"…I hate people like that," Sena murmured.

Unsui didn't respond, so she continued, "They're nothing but bullies taking advantage of you. They pick on you because you're weaker than they are." They're nothing but bullies…

"Because they want to show they are stronger when they are not," Unsui murmured. "Those people are cowards, but Agon is not a coward." He paused. "Agon's not a coward because he is not a lie—he really is what he is: arrogant and violent. Bullies bully others to get something, but Agon wants to prove to himself that he can manage without the remains of our dad, but he's doing it in the wrong way."

"But didn't you say that…?"

"Agon was a coward before, but he isn't anymore. Because he manages without our dad."

Sena blinked, and then nodded slowly. What Unsui said was very contradictory; however, his words seemed to seep into her mind, warranting her comprehension of what the older boy was trying to say.

Agon and bullies were very much alike, but very much not. Then she fully grasped it. Agon had nothing to prove anymore because he is what he is, and that would never change—he is not doing it for a gain or loss. He might enjoy the admiration or fear sent to him, but it wasn't as if he was confirming a statement, because the statement needs no confirmation, because he _is _what he_ is_.

But why does he hate her so much?

"Then why does he hate me?"

"He doesn't hate you."

She frowned.

"Really, Sena, he doesn't," he sighed. "He's just…uncertain about you."

"What's there to be uncertain about?" she groaned out with frustration. It felt unnecessarily redundant.

"We've been abandoned by our own dad, Sena, so we grew up with uncertainty."

"But you don't seem to be like that," she pointed out.

"That's because I can't be suspicious every single time."

"But Agon…?"

He pressed his lips into a thin line. "Agon…he's more complicated."

* * *

Agon just wanted the attention he never got from his father.

The reason why he behaves like so is because, despite what kind of attention he'll get, he'll get it.

The reason why he calls Unsui Unko-chan.

The reason why he flirts with girls.

The reason why he belittle others.

The reason why he bullies Sena.

It was the same with Unsui, however, he suppresses the desire for notice and focuses on more of formality and regards to his big brother status.

Miki mused that Unsui was more like his father whereas Agon was more like her. They both wanted the same thing; they both reacted differently, hence the likeliness of their parents.

She lifted herself off of her bed carefully so that she wouldn't disturb her son's slumber, and slipped out of the room and to where Unsui and Sena were. They must be sleeping by now or Sena must be up...

Miki felt a wave of guilt. When Agon had snapped and hurt Sena, she immediately brought him to her room and had given him a good talking to. He and she later made idle chat, including the twins' father. It wasn't uncomfortable at the least, but…sad at the least. But she shouldn't have abandoned Sena, even though her mind was fully set on straightening out her son.

As she neared to the door, she heard voices—they were having a conversation. She stopped midway from touching the knob as she listened, and she took a step back when Sena said, "Maybe Agon needs to know that he's not alone…"

* * *

One day…

"Agon, you're a jerk, a butthead, and a dummy, but I…kind of see you as a friend, so come and play with us."

"Butthead?" he repeated, completely ignoring the last part. "How am I a butthead when my head doesn't even look like one? You're the butthead, butthead!"

"No I'm not," Sena argued, frowning.

"Yes you are. Your cheeks are as fat as butt cheeks." He then pushed his cheeks together to imitate the physical form of a bottom, then smirking when Sena furrowed her eyebrows in exasperation.

"Agon," Unsui snapped, frowning disapprovingly, "take that back. That's really, really rude."

"Make me." Agon stuck his tongue out, and he laughed when Unsui pounced on him.

Sena sighed and ran her fingers through her new haircut.

Unknown to Miki, the day after Agon had hit Sena, she had hit him back. She was reluctant to do so, however, the younger twin was getting on her nerves, so she…snapped, just like how Agon had snapped.

The two wrestled until Unsui arrived and pried the two apart. And then…Sena wept and told Agon and Unsui that they were not alone…because she was going to try and fix things. Agon scoffed at that and left, but was stopped when Sena tugged at his shirt and insisted that he should join with them.

Hence the initiation of their friendship.

Somehow, Sena stepped out of her shell ever since her conversation with Unsui. Something just brightened her dark path and made her see how to escape her struggles. But this went unaware by the little girl, just as how oblivious the Kongo family was that she wasn't a boy.

It wasn't intentional that Sena was behaving so differently towards them, not that they took much notice of it besides Baa-chan. In an emblematic sense, her empty heart made its fill when she discovered two other lonely souls in need of a touch of tenderness, and all her wits were alerted by this. As she poured out hope for the souls ran by her unnoticed determination, her heart yet remains half empty; considerably enough, her heart was half full nevertheless.

Miki didn't know what had made Sena once an empty child, but she her chest was blooming in mirth as she watched three children growing away from a saddening future.


	4. Kongo Family

Childhood Relapse

* * *

Chapter 4: Kongo Family

* * *

"Agon?" Sena pushed the door open. "Agon, are you in there?"

The form under the covers did not answer.

"Agon," Sena murmured.

"Go away," snapped Agon's voice. "Go away and just never come back."

* * *

"Unsui, Agon won't talk to me."

"Agon doesn't want you to leave and he's just upset about it."

"Are…you upset too?"

He rubbed his eyes. "Y-yeah…"

"I'm upset too. No, I'm not upset, I'm really, really sad."

"I'm really, really sad too."

* * *

"Baa-chan, how can I make Agon start talking to me again?"

"Oh, Sena-kun, I…I don't think there is a way. I'm sorry."

She shook her head. "No. It's okay…"

No one can be forced to speak anyway.

* * *

"Bye, Sena," Unsui said, giving her one last hug. Sena hugged him back, and when they stepped back, Sena hugged Agon, who grunted but hugged her as well.

"Bye…Sena," he murmured, his hair tickling her cheek.

The girl stood before the twins and tried to tell them, but failed. Instead, she said, "I'll…miss you two."

"Don't worry, we'll see each other," Unsui assured, grinning. "Someday."

"You better not die till then," Agon growled.

"Agon!"

Their mother came to the living room, looking tired as usual. "Come on, Sena-kun," ushered Baa-chan.

Sena looked up, nodding.

She couldn't say it. She couldn't tell Unsui and Agon how much she loved them.

And that she was a girl.

But…what did it matter? They were going to see each other again, someday. Yes, and that would be the day where they would all laugh and smile like the times they had shared before. It would be pleasant and warm and fun…and best of all, they would be together. And that might also be the day where she would surprise them, revealing that she is indeed a girl. Sena nearly giggled aloud at the thought of their bewildered expressions and wide eyes about to pop out of their sockets.

She craned her neck to catch a glimpse of the twins, only managing to get a peek at Agon's face, and wondered if Unsui had that same solemn face as well.

They…would see each other again…right?


	5. Kazuki

Childhood Relapse

* * *

Chapter 5: Kazuki

* * *

When Sena came back to school, he and the gang went back to picking on the girl to make sure that she hadn't squealed on them. During this, he noticed that there was something different about her.

Her hair wasn't snipped messily like how it was once when they pulled out the scissors and pinned her down; it was neater—and she even had bangs covering her forehead. (Kazuki dared not to think how cute she looked in her new style.)

Aside from her new look, her character seemed to be…strange. When they taunted her, her face wasn't solemn and withdrawn, but indifferent, and not in the tensed kind of way—she would raise an eyebrow, looking bored at their comments. When they pushed her down, she didn't immediately curled into a ball, oh no. She glared at them and walked away, as if that could stop them from continuing their fun (in which it usually did, but it would merely provoke the boys into getting the girl at least steamed up or scared.)

Kazuki and his friends still took her lunch, and Sena wouldn't resist like before, but scowl and walk away. Now this had surprised all of them. She was quiet as always and have that same blank expression, but in a different way. Almost like…like…like she became stronger mentally and was more daring. And that was ridiculous.

One day, when he was walking back home he saw Sena and Mamori walking side by side. He scrunched his nose at this and wondered why his sempai hanged out with the tiny thing. Surely they weren't related in anyway—they didn't even look alike—however, Mamori never relented on abandoning the tyke, always filling in the big sister position and babying and admonishing Sena, who would send secret marveling looks at the older girl.

He didn't understand why they were so close even when they have opposite statuses in school: Mamori was regarded to be one of the most popular girls while Sena was hardly acknowledged and was picked on. It was amazing how the tyke never caused the pitfall of Mamori's reputation, as if the quarter American would be concerned anyway.

Somehow, there was an improvement in Sena and Mamori's bond, and from what he observed, it was much more comfortable and stronger. He then wondered what had happened to the dopey dope he was so fond of teasing. Something definitely happened when she was gone.

"Oi, blunder wonder," he called out to the small girl. He watched as Sena did not flinch and turn warily to him with uncertain eyes, but idly toss him a side glance. She, however, never spoke a word to him. Now that he thought about it, the only sounds he heard from the tyke were cries, whimpers, sniffles, and…well, that's about it. She hardly said anything to anyone anyway, excluding the sempai, and no one had ever heard her if she did say anything.

"Eeeehh, she's not scared of ya, Kazuki," snickered one of his friends.

"Shut up," he snapped. "So, how about you start taking our bags, 'kay blunder wonder?"

As expected of the newly transformed Sena, she shook her head and continued to put her things into her backpack. Before she made her way to the exit, he reached out and grabbed her hair, dragging her to the floor, pinning her down. He grinned when he finally got an expression out of the commonly impassive face—Sena gritted her teeth and looked as if she was going to let out a frustrated cry.

"Man, what an annoying brat," one snorted. "Maybe we shouldn't have taken her to the train."

"Don't say that," said another. "The shrimp's been pissing me off back then, so she got what she deserved."

He felt her squirm in his grip, and his grin grew. The tyke glared at Kazuki, and he suddenly pictured his father's face. Startled, he let her go, and the little girl bolted out of the classroom looking hazardous.

"Oi, oi, oi! Kazuki! What the hell!"

He blinked and looked at his hands. Wasn't that the same glare he uses at his father…? His uncle often told him the way he glares. It looks similar to a pout, except he furrows his eyebrows more and his eyes had that fiery detest, locking onto the face of the person who had provoked his temper.

This was weird.

Lately, he hadn't been able to close in Sena. He didn't know why he didn't join the fun as his friends encountered the girl. He figured something out though: the more Sena grew out of her shell, the less he had the chance to near her.

He was happy when she reverted back to her reclusive self.

He was more than happy when the Kaitani brat moved away days later.

* * *

1st A/N: Jyuumonji in this story meets Sena sooner. Originally, it was supposed to be an OC named Sousuke, but I figured that Jyuumonji would apply better to the characterization. And don't worry Jyuumonji fans, I tend to not make him a bad guy but a good fellow, just like the original Jyuumonji! It'll be cute and awesome, I swear.

2nd A/N: It has come to my attention that there aren't _enough_ authors for ES21. I mean, look at Naruto and Inuyasha; they have tons and tons of stories! And why? Because they are an **awesome** series! But I believe that ES21 is awesome too. In fact, I am currently OBSESSED with it right now. With the manga, dur. Personally, I'm not much of a fan with the anime, but I applaud at their hard work at it. Thank you makers of ES21, I bow down to you.

I just had an initiative that _ANYONE_ who makes at least _**TWENTY-ONE**_ ES21 stories (oneshot, progressing story, whatever, but they have to at least be stories), I'll make a story about FEM!Sena paired up with any MALE (yeah, no moe—TEEHEE) character CHOSEN BY THAT PERSON and be dedicated to that story until finished, of course said person needs to give me brief plotline desired. But you know what? I feel just silly trying to make ES21 a popular section that would make others actually look at it. But hey, worth a shot, right?


	6. Riku

Childhood Relapse

* * *

Chapter 6: Riku

* * *

It had been three days since she had left the Kongo's, and Sena had already missed them terribly, which was somewhat ironic. Unsui always admonished whatever she did; he would look at her with disappointed eyes and frown a displeased frown, and he had even done that when they barely knew each other. Agon was a horrible person, always swearing and using violent actions. He does whatever he wanted to do and had little regards to anyone's feelings other than his mother.

But they were good guys who would risk protecting, or what she would assume that they would do. Sena hoped that both of them, especially Agon, would grow up to be great people, and the probability of that happening was definitely great. But most importantly, she hoped that they would remember her. Perhaps someday she would visit them like how she promised Unsui and Agon.

Ever since she returned, the Anezaki's hadn't ceased to baby her, especially…well—it was a tie between Amy and Mamori. Hideki just sighed with relief and tousled her hair, telling her how wonderful it was to have her back, and then got himself yelled at by his wife for ruining her hair. Sena smiled inwardly at the loving antics between the couple.

Mamori was the most distressed of the family. She blamed herself for not taking care of her little sister. Sena tried assuring her that it was not a problem regarding how she's still alive and healthy, probably gained a it more confidence ever since her argument with Agon, thus making her a bit braver than before. However, Mamori still couldn't forgive herself and guaranteed Sena that she would do a better job as a sister.

"Okay, Nee-chan," Sena answered, her face still blank but her eyes having that light of appreciation.

Mamori, overwhelmed by the moment, hugged Sena until she was pleading for air.

Now the seasons had passed, bringing Sena to the start of her fourth year. Her bullies still hadn't ceased harassing her, no matter how much she displayed an uninteresting reaction, dismaying the boys greatly. However, for some reason, they continued to pester her: they tugged her hair, taunting that she had changed into a boy, calling her names, shoving her, tripping her, stealing from her, and even making her do errands for them.

Sena kept quiet, not finding any reason to say anything. But there were times where she felt the need to scream, like shout at the bullies to leave her alone. But Sena kept her mouth shut, and it made her miss the twins more and more and _more_. When they were around, she didn't have to regard to what she said—more so because Agon spoke liberally, and less so whenever Unsui would glare at them. When they first met, she was unsure and shy, but their relationships developed rapidly, surprisingly, and they interacted as if they had known each other for years.

Sure, she had Mamori with her, but it was different. Mamori was, well, very much like Unsui, but only with her own special tweaks. Sena loved being with the older girl, but she desired the company of nonchalant and arrogant Agon and skeptical and lecturing Unsui.

It was the good old times that nearly made her cry with nostalgia.

It was then that she would someone who would replace her twins.

* * *

A boy transferred into her classroom, and had immediately become the talk of the school. He was the "cool fourth-year who looked cool and acted cool". And it was true, he was cool.

He wasn't very tall—just a bit taller than Sena, but that didn't stop him from looking down at others who dared sneer at him. His hair was light color, almost white, and his eyes were acute and showed no fear. His hands were stuffed inside his pant pockets while wearing a proud smirk, only humbler than Agon's overconfident ones.

He dressed cool too.

"I'm Kaitani Riku," he introduced himself. "I came here because of my dad's job. I don't know if he would have to relocate soon; it depends on the business."

Immediately, hands shot up into the air, and soon the classroom was flooded with questions and an answer from one person.

Sena listened, interested. Apparently, Riku's mother was a fashion designer, his uncle used to be from a popular soccer team, and his aunt was a member of the Olympics—a runner in the tracks. The students were awed by the given information, and they were all convinced due to Riku's honest and sincere tone and the shine on his uplifting eyes. And besides, it explains why he's so cool.

There was a string of students who wanted to have the new boy to sit next to them, and there where others (such as Sena's bullies) who thought he was a mere boaster and what he said were untrue. Riku, however, remained unruffled by these taunts and proceeded on. Sena was considerably amazed by the boy's lack of retaliation and pondered about her own actions whenever the attention is laid upon her. Usually, she would struggle when her patience was wearing thin or knowing that she was testing the bullies' exasperation.

"Please sit behind Sena-kun, Riku-kun," her sensei said, pointing to the empty desk behind her. "Sena-kun, please raise your hand."

As she did as told, her gaze suddenly landed on Jyuumonji Kazuki, who looked at her back. He no longer picked on her for some reason; however, she still detested the boy. It appeared that certain dislike could be exchanged as he gave her an unwavering, stern stare. Why were his focused eyes fixated on her? She will never know.

All eyes watched the Kaitani boy stroll to the desk behind Sena and sit down. Sena remained staring back at the board, wondering if Kaitani was looking at her too.

* * *

"Oi."

Kaitani Riku was standing before her and the bullies. Her face was flushing, all because this boy had seen her in her humiliating state: juggling the bullies' backpacks and being mocked by them. Though he must have already thought that she was a loser from the beginning—it wasn't hard to tell.

"Che. It's that new kid. What do ya want?" demanded one of the boys.

"Forcing a girl to do your bidding? Not cool at all," he snorted.

"How annoying—you think that you're all that, don't you?" The boy neared Riku and growled, "We'll see about that."

As the boy ran towards Riku with his fist in the air, his eyes widened with shock as the smaller boy disappeared right before his eyes and right into another bully's face.

"Waah!" One boy toppled over and fell on his bum, as the others gasped. "what—how! He's ultra fast!"

Sena merely stared at the occurrence.

Eventually, the bullies ran away, giving up because they could not touch the new student who was just too quick on his feet for them. Snorting at their retreating forms, he went to the girl and helped her up.

"You okay?"

She nodded, avoiding meeting his gaze.

Riku frowned. "Why didn't you do anything when they were picking on you?"

She hung her head and shrugged.

"Oi, I just saved you so I think that I deserve an answer."

Sena hesitated. Should she speak and behave uncharacteristically in front of her new classmate? He probably got the idea that she was mute regarding to the public, but that didn't seem to affect him. And besides, he really did help her out. "I-I guess," she murmured.

"That's better," he said, grinning. "I'm Riku, by the way. You must be Sena, the girl who sits before me, right?"

She nodded.

"So, why didn't you do anything?"

She shrugged again.

"Hey, don't give me that. I know that there's a reason."

"A-ah, well, ignoring them would be useless because it makes them angrier than before, and I can't really tell anyone…"

"Why not?"

"Because they would know and try to hurt me."

Or stuff her into a train again.

"Then why not run?"

Her eyebrows furrowed. "I'm…I'm not fast enough…" she murmured.

There was a pause because Riku was thinking. He rubbed his chin and stared off into the distance, this Sena had noticed, and then turned his attention onto her once again. "Okay, I decided," Riku said, smirking at the girl, "I'm going to help you out."

"Why?" she asked automatically.

Why? _Why?_ "Are you seriously asking me that?" he snorted, bewildered.

She nodded.

"Because I can't _stand it_ when bullies take advantage of someone who is weaker! I'm going to teach you how to beat them."

Sena frowned. "How?"

"Didn't you see me?" He then jabbed a thumb to his chest and smirked again. "I used my speed to outsmart them."

Sena nodded slowly. "Okay then."

"Um, right." They stared at each other, another pause. "You don't seem to be excited."

"I don't think that learning how to runaway would be exciting," she deadpanned, finding it to be overall stupid.

"It isn't running away!" he snapped.

She raised an eyebrow.

"Alright, when you have speed, then that would be your greatest technique," he sighed.

"Why?"

"Because with speed, who is going to stop you when they can't touch you?"

"The person with the same amount of speed."

"Boy Sena," Riku sighed again, "you sure know how to drag someone down."

* * *

"When you got speed, speed is the only thing that matters. Sure, there are others who have strength, but with quick feet you can getaway easily," Riku said.

Her eyebrows furrowed at the statement. "…Getaway? Didn't you just say that it's not used to runaway—"

"It's self-defense! _Self-defense_!"

Sena kept her mouth shut, but appeared to be confused still.

Riku shook his head and sighed. "I want you to show me how you run."

"…Okay." Sena pushed herself off the ground, running with ease. When she heard Riku say, "No good", she stopped and turned to him.

"If you run like that you're going to end up being the slowest person ever," Riku said. "I'll show you a way to get by quicker." Suddenly, Riku vanished from his spot and to the end of the field. It was the same quickness that Sena recognized when he was slipping pass the boys previously. Then he displayed the running again once heading back to the girl. "Get that?"

She blinked. "H-how am I going to run like that?" she stammered.

"Look at my feet." He pointed to his foot and pushed down against the sole. "Running by force is useless because you are trying to exert as much energy as possible, and that would get you nowhere. However, if you push down against the earth with your foot into a ninety degrees angle then that would make the difference." He demonstrated again, only slower to allow Sena to capture the technique.

"Oh," she said, able to differentiate. "I get it."

"You catch on fast. If you do this technique, you'll speed up much quicker than your original run, but it'll take a lot of practice in order for you to master it."

"Wh-what kind of practice?"

"Well, first it'll be simple jogging so that you'll be comfortable with the positioning, and later fulltime running."

She nodded.

He grinned. "Good. Soon enough, you'll be just as fast as me," he said, patting Sena's head.

"How do you know all this stuff?" Sena asked when he stopped patting.

"Hmm? Oh, well, you heard that my aunt was from the Olympics and that my uncle was from a former soccer team, right?"

"Yes."

"They taught me how to run, hoping that one day I could have the same experience entering the leagues as they once had. And I am definitely going there," he said, grin turned to a knowing smile.

"Are you going to be a soccer player? Or a runner on track?"

"I haven't decided yet. Right now, I'm in a rugby team but I don't know if that's the sport I'm exactly into."

"I think you'll be great in any sport either way," Sena stated.

"…I've decided again," he said, holding Sena by her shoulders, "you're going to be my little sister."

"…E-eh?"

"Don't 'eh' me, Sena. It's not polite to question you older brother."

"…"

* * *

Mamori was walking home alone again for the second time, which felt foreign to her because she usually had her little sister's presence by her side. She thought it was strange how Sena had excused herself and didn't tell her why; just saying that she had someone to meet up with. Mamori was stuck between Sena actually opening up to people or that a bully was forcing her to do something once again.

Then her attention was caught by the activity going on the field, and she was able to make out the figures: one was a boy about Sena's age with shocking white hair while the other one…wait, Sena?

"Sena!" she called, hurrying to the field. "Sena!"

The younger girl looked up. "Ah, Mamo-nee."

"So is this why you weren't going to come home with me?"

She nodded. "Sorry, but I had plans with someone."

"Uh, who is this?"

"I'm Kaitani Riku," the boy declared.

"And what's going on here?" the older girl asked, blinking.

"He's teaching me how to runaway from bullies," Sena explained casually, pointing at the boy.

"It's not running away," Riku snapped. "It's self-defense!"

Her eyebrows furrowed as she placed a finger to her lip. "How do you use running as defense? Isn't getting away considered as running away?"

Riku pinched the bridge of his nose. "I already explained this, Sena."

She shrugged. "I forgot."

"You _always_ forget!"

"Unintentionally."

"_Gaah_."

Mamori smiled, suppressing a giggle. Somehow this boy managed to open Sena up. Wasn't he that new student who transferred into Sena's class? Well, he certainly knows what he's doing. "So you're teaching her how to run really fast?" Mamori asked curiously.

"That's right. When you got speed, speed is the only thing that matters because no one can touch you," Riku explained. "If Sena becomes really fast then she would be able to avoid her bullies."

She nodded. "Oh, that would make Sena settle in school easier," she mused.

"Nee-chan," Sena sighed, almost whining. Mamori giggled at this.

So it was then that the two new friends—Sena was unaware of this development unlike Riku and Mamori—would practice Sena's new running ability by jogging everyday after school. Whenever bullies pick on her, Riku was always by her side fending them off, making Mamori both relieved and happy. Sena's new friend may not be a girl like she hoped, but Riku was a friend nevertheless. A truly good friend who would never abandon Sena, and this Mamori approved greatly.

Sometimes, she would deliver them cookies whenever they had breaks from running, and watch from afar to see them chasing one another. It was pleasant to see this side of Sena for once and anticipated that Riku's influence would increase her confidence.

"Sena," she called, "Rikkun!"

"Mamo-nee, did you need something?" Riku asked, beating Sena to climb up the steep.

"My mom bought tickets to an amusement park. Do you want to come with us?"

"Of course," he said. "Sena's going to need her big brother, after all."

Mamori smiled.

* * *

As he stepped into the front seat of the truck after he said his farewells, the engine purred to life and began to drive. "Those girls seem like nice friends. You gonna miss them, sport?" his father asked.

"Yeah," he replied, looking idly out at the window.

For the past two weeks, he hadn't made a single male friend, only two girls. But for the past two weeks, being their friend, never had he thought that he would obtain sensations never experienced before: loyalty, protection, and accomplishment. However, though he had finished teaching Sena how to run, he felt as if the mission wasn't fulfilled.

What if Sena forgets to run? What if she doesn't move quickly enough? What if she doesn't practice because he's not with her? What if an accident occurs, rendering her immobile? What if she gets a terrible sprain? What if…?

"R-Riku!"

He blinked and looked out the window, and the gasped with surprise. Sena was dashing by the truck and continued calling his name.

"What the heck, Sena!" he exclaimed. "Stop it! This truck is going to enter the freeway soon!"

"C-catch!" she called, throwing the object at him. The throw was somewhat weak, but Riku managed catching it when he reached for it, leaning out of the window. His father then whipped up admonishments about how dangerous it is to do this and that, and Riku paid no mind. His attention was solely on the small parcel, and when he unwrapped it, his eyes widened.

It was a wristband, the kind that athletes would wear. The elastic ring was orange and blue, on there was a tiny clock glued onto it—the center of a watch. Riku snorted with disbelief, and picked up the note that was also in the parcel.

_Mamo-nee helped me make this—sorry if it looks bad. I heard that wristbands were popular among athletes, so I thought that you might like one. But it was strange for them to wear wristbands when they don't do much, or they collect sweat? So I thought I might as well make it useful by making it into a watch as well. _

Riku rolled his eyes. Sena, always so silly.

_I also want this to be a reminder of our time together, despite how short it was. I'll miss you, Riku. You're a great friend and teacher. Thank you for being my brother. _

—_Sena_

Sena.

He looked out the window, no longer seeing Sena because he already entered the freeway. Slumping back into his seat, he stared at the object on his lap.

'Sena, I'm going to miss you too.' He slipped on the wristband made by his little sister.


	7. Rui

Childhood Relapse

* * *

Chapter 7: Rui

* * *

Sena, eight years old, had survived from a car crash responsible for the death of her parents.

The little girl, severely injured when a metal pipe protruded through her body, was paralyzed emotionally as she witnessed through teary eyes her parents engulfed into the blazing fire, and noticed that their blood had tinted the gray smoke. She had also breathed in a lot of the smoke, causing her lungs to suffocate from the lack of cleaner air. She shivered and shook violently, and the doctors did what they could to save her life.

Sena, eight years old, had survived from a near death and was taken in by her mother's close friend, Anezaki Amy. Anezaki Amy was half-American and half-Japanese, her father being American and her mother Japanese. When she moved to Japan, she had befriended Mihae from their high school years to their adulthood. It was only a matter of time when they would let their children meet each other, and unfortunately, dear Mihae wouldn't be there to see it.

It was also unfortunate that Mihae didn't see how well the two had gotten along. It was adorable—her Mamori babying Mihae's Sena, who would pout from the given treatment from her older sister, who would laugh and ignore the little sister's protests.

After one year and the two girls had grown so attached to each other as a pair of sisters should be. Mamori told her of the incident last year on the first day of school, and Amy had gone ballistic. How dare those rowdy boys harm Sena! She was thinking of contacting their parents until she saw the unreadable gaze that Sena had directed onto her, clinging onto Mamori's sleeve, and Mamori looked very pleased as this. A sister pride, Amy knew.

No, Amy would not call the parents; instead, she would allow the two to grow closer together. After all, Sena was already considered to be part of their family, and a family would help support each other. And it was a good thing that she did.

Mamori was a good influence on Sena. The little girl was starting to open up more rather than wallowing up in her usual silence. Though Amy couldn't help but be curious of Sena's personality—she was sure that because of Mamori's character making an impression onto Sena's solemn one, Sena would surely turn out to be a sweet and shy thing, not an indifferent one.

Perhaps the family that Sena had stayed at for a couple days made more of an impression on her. Amy went hysterical during the little girl's disappearance, and nearly died from relief when Sena appeared on her doorstep with a cute new hair cut. Aside from noticing that Sena looked much better with bangs lining above her eyebrows, Amy was surprised to see that the one who had brought her baby girl was a beautiful woman, and was even more surprised when she heard that the woman's son had saved her.

When Amy offered the woman to come in, the woman declined, saying that she had to go back to her home to check if her twins hadn't destroyed anything, but added that she would like to visit Sena again someday—along with her sons as well, who were likely the ones who made Sena the not-so-sweet-as-honey-girly-girl-with-cute-shy-aura. Well…at least Sena had grown a backbone.

It wasn't that staying a couple weeks with the Kongo's had immediately altered Sena's personality, but rather their impression upon her slowly developed into a strong child. However, it was later that Sena became frustrated and realized that her disregard to her bullies was failing, which was definitely after that Riku-boy had moved away, or so she had heard from her biological daughter. Sena did not catch her bland character to increase and making her into a more unsociable person. Her stress and desperation for making friends, as Mamori strongly suggested, was tiring, so she abandoned that notion and learned to accept her isolation, only certain people as exceptions.

As a mother, of course Amy would have taken notice of this.

Although, she wasn't quite sure what to do with Sena. She wanted to help Sena, to get rid of her bullies, but her intuition told her not to—she should allow Sena to grow and develop as a person without any interference of over-protection. And her intuition was right: Sena eventually became someone who could stand before fears and conquer them.

Mamori would sometimes get in the way and act out her role being the older sibling, but it wasn't bad because it would allow Sena to open up to Mamori more and more. And it was the same for that Riku before he left.

But still…Those bullies made Amy's second daughter's life miserable, making her infuriated. They prevented Sena from making other friends. They kept her from _growing_—they kept stealing her snack-time milk dammit! They mocked her and even physically hurt her. It was amazing how the young girl coped it all. Amy wanted to do something, but she can't. If it means getting Sena from torment, then Amy would be willing to risk everything. Yet her intuition hasn't been wronged so far, nevertheless.

So she waited.

And it turned out that her intuition was right.

* * *

Ever since Riku had moved away, Jyuumonji Kazuki had been staring at her quite often lately. It was rather unnerving, and yet Sena could do nothing about it—it wasn't as if she had enough confidence to actually confront the boy. And it bothered her why her former bully ceased mocking her and why he was overtly gazing at her direction. Of course, no one dared make this aloud, fearing that the ruthless boy would do something to cause them harm.

Ever since Riku had moved away, life has been…empty. There wasn't a certain proud boy who would come to her desk and ramble off about sports, his family, and whatnot; she missed those days where she would pay attentive to his talks and make a comment here and there, even a question. She missed the days when they would jog peacefully together. She missed the days when they would invent their own inside jokes and stories. She missed eating Mamori's cookies with him, and explaining to the older girl how her day went alongside Riku.

Life instantly became the same routinely dull cycle, and Sena would be encountered with a favorite question before Riku's arrival, or even before meeting the Kongo family: What is the point of life?

Despite being a child, it was possible for a young girl to think deeper than most, especially with her parents dying right before her eyes and being harassed by schoolmates. Her childhood altered from a care-free relaxation to an anxiety-filled tragedy. Due to this, her character was to be renewed with influences of her friends and family. It was, frankly, contradictable; whereas one person was this while the other had a totally different impression, and with that it would be unpredictable of how Sena would grow up to be as.

A character that would develop her into a being.

Her parents' blood will always run through her veins, nevertheless, so there will be chances of her being more like her father and mother, but change can be determined as the years pass on. Such as the continuous line of influences attributable to the people around her, especially the day when another boy had entered in her life—well, more like _barging_ in. And it wasn't good at all, not like Riku, Unsui, or Agon. No. This boy was bad, just like Jyuumonji.

His name was Habashira Rui.

These two didn't go to the same school, but the buildings were rather close to each other. He was quite notorious for being the toughest kid in the district, and this hasn't failed scaring the children around. Even Sena had high hopes of never encountering the boy. However, Sena's original bullies grew annoyed by their deceasing progress so they decided to plant a prank.

An awful one.

They spread rumors about Sena ridiculing Rui and saying that Riku could kick his ass any day.

News flew like wildfire, immediately reaching Rui's ears. And was he infuriated? Why yes. He got up from his usual seat by the tree and stomped over to the school the block over, demanded for Kobayakawa Sena, and dragged her to a deserted park. Witnessed by bystanders, they rapidly made it so that everybody was well-informed of Sena being held captive by the scary fourth grader. This included Mamori, who was hysterically frantic.

Alone together with Habashira Rui, Sena wasn't sure what to do, and that was when a fist made collision against her jaw. She practically flew to the ground, urine flowing by sudden fright, and she looked up with wide, stunned eyes.

He went on beating her up and insulting her and Riku. When he finished, he stared down at the pitiful girl. As he was walking away from the thrashed girl, he heard a feeble whimper, almost enunciating the drawled words that left the kid's mouth, but it was much too weak to be worthy of hearing. Although, Rui was amused by the girl's stubbornness and turned his attention onto her once more, a smirk on his face.

"Eeehh? Why are you still trying?" he snorted. "There's no point; you're just much too weak so give it up."

"J-jerk," she managed to cough out.

"Is that the best comeback you can think of?" he scoffed humorously, turning his body towards her.

"T-take it _back_!"

He blinked. "What?"

"Take it back, about Riku being pathetic!" she snapped. "He's not!"

"He taught you how to run, right? Well, it looks like his efforts were useless, making him pathetic," Rui said as if it was logic. He then became bored and decided to leave.

That until she opened her mouth again.

"I hate those who take advantage on others!" she screamed. "They're nothing but _cowards_! You're the biggest coward ever!"

His eyes glowered on the frail form of the child, and then scoffed, "I'm _not_ a coward; you are. Cowards are those who can't protect themselves, who are weak. The stronger ones hafta show the weaklings who're boss." He then delivered a kick to the stomach, causing Sena to lurch when she was trying to get up.

"Th-that's…where…you're…_wrong_!" she panted heavily. She gripped her torso tightly as an attempt to push away the pain. "You…don't know…wh-what's it…like!"

"What gives you the right to tell me about it when you can't even stand?" he sneered. As Rui was about to give another attack, the kid violently shook. His fist stopped midair and watched the girl staggering onto her feet, almost desperately. Her breathing was inadequate, which gave Rui a five second chilling fear—had he gone too far?

All he intended on doing was to set facts straight: Sena can never measure up to the stronger ones' superiority. So he decided to help the boyish-like girl by throwing in a couple punches and kicks. No harm done. But now he was becoming nervous: What if he was leading the kid to her death? She, after all, was awfully pathetic. And if that happened, what would his brother say and do to him? Why was this kid ridiculously weak?

"Someone t-told me"—she paused to let out a gagging cough, making Rui cringed with disgust—"th-that…that those who boast about their strength are afraid of…of being proven th-that they are weak," she breathed out. Her fingers were locked into the grass, digging into the dirt. But with this, she hoisted herself up and lifted her head to shoot a glare at the older boy.

"When they bully others, they think it's admiration when it's only fear," she continued, managing to stand even with wobbly knees. "When they bully others, they want to get the sense of dominance." She nearly fell, but managed to catch herself. "When…when they bully others, they are scared, weak, and unsure—they are _cowards._"

"And I _hate _people like that," she spat venomously.

Rui's eyes widened, and then he shook his head and fixed a glare. "You bitch," he growled, charging at the girl. As he thrust his fist forward, he felt nothing but air. She just…vanished.

"Someone else also told me that when you got speed," a voice said behind him, "speed is the only thing that matters."

He whipped around and saw Sena leaning against a tree, a hand pushing against the area where he had kicked her previously. Gritting his teeth, he threw his long arm to grab the girl but failed when she dodged.

"He also said that when you're fast, what's there to fear when he can't touch you?"

"Shut the hell up!" Rui barked angrily, blindly throwing punches again, hoping that he would at least hit her once. Per hit was merely contact with nothingness, and per hit would give him a glimpse of the slight girl avoiding his attacks. He became frustrated by his useless attempts, so he stopped and pushed himself off the ground with his arms spread wide apart, that way his would have a chance of grabbing her due to his lengthy limbs.

However, just as he neared her, she ducked below his arms and somersaulted away. He halted immediately, making a sharp turn to face the girl, and hissed out, "And you call me a coward? Why won't you fight seeing how you're all mighty and powerful!"

"What's the point in retaliating?" she shot back. "I have no intention in doing so unless when necessary."

Rui was boiling in anger now. How dare she mock him? How dare she belittle him? He'll show her. He'll show her alright.

Automatically, once he noticed her body leaning to make another quick getaway, he thrust out his arm and felt something soft through his fingers. Then he locked onto her hair and threw her down to the ground, earning an aggrieved cry and a bruise to his arm after the mighty kick. Grimacing, he let her go and withdrew his arm, caressing it. His anger ignited by this, causing him to knock her down aggressively with the heel of his foot, connecting with her shoulder blade.

"You brat!" he snapped.

Sena thudded, and raised her head to glare at the boy before her. With her aching arms, she managed to push herself off the ground and reached forward to grab his ankles and dragged him down along with her. Rui, shocked, gasped, and later gawked when a sudden blow hit his lower cheekbone.

She raised her fist again and sent another punch onto the boy's skull, rendering him to unconsciousness. When he was out cold, she rolled out of his loose grip and lay next to his body. Rui received a bruise on his cheek down to his jaw-line, a bloody nose, and a small cut on his lip. But compared to him, Sena had it much worse. Her face didn't have any damage, but it was rather pale and expressed fatigue.

With one once of strength, she pulled Rui to a tree and set him there to rest. She then collapsed after having a coughing fit and vomiting blood.

* * *

"What happened then?"

"She won. I lost."

So Sena proved to them that she wasn't just a weak, silent child. She was a weak, silent, _fragile, delicate, _and _brash _child. Okay, perhaps brash wouldn't be it, but it was rather impulsive of her to accept such challenge. Never would Amy imagine the petite girl to participate in a fist to fist battle with a violent boy.

Her hubby, Hideki, was proud.

"That's my girl!" he laughed. "Showing who's the boss!"

"Hideki!" she hissed, glaring at the man.

"Demo, Amy, Sena did something incredible! She stood up against her oppose and defended herself for the first time."

"_And got sent to the hospital._"

Hideki visibly flinched from the venomous words that had left his wife's mouth.

"Ma'am, your husband is right," said the father of the boy, a stoic and intimidating man with several scars marring his face, a frightening looking person, however, emanated good principles, "your daughter is indeed something to be proud of. Not many children have the guts to stand up against the bully. I am ashamed that son happened to take that role." He shot a glare at his son, who hung his head.

"N-no, I mean, I should be the one who is ashamed," Amy insisted. "After all, Sena was my responsibility. If I were to be more accountable of how I raised her then this would never happened."

"Honey, Sena's been going through a lot lately, especially ever since that car crash," Hideki said, rubbing her arm in comfort.

"I-I know…b-but still! She's my responsibility and I…I should h-have taken better care of her." Amy pressed her hand against her mouth.

"I presume that your daughter is not one who is used to making her points aloud?" the father of the boy said.

Amy shook her head. "Her teacher tells me that S-Sena was always too quiet, never raising her hand or going to a group of friends. She was a-a-always alone, and without M-Mamori, my eldest d-daughter, I'm n-not sure how Sena would survive. She's always bullied too…"

The man smiled sympathetically, knowingly. "Yes, it must be hard to raise an insecure child, and seeing how she appears to look unlike her parents, I suppose that she's adopted?"

"H-how—I mean, y-yes, b-but…"

"Ma'am, your daughter did the right thing. She cannot keep being protected forever, and you know that. Someday you would have to let her go no matter how much you don't want to, even fearing that something terrible would happen to her. But rest assured that because she had stepped up and stood against her situation, she will certainly become a stronger person."

"B-but she's in elementary school; don't you think it might to be early for her?" Amy said, her eyebrows furrowing.

"Better then than never."

Amy gave a wary look until the doctor entered the room. "How is she? Is she okay?" she was quick to question.

The man pressed his lips into a firm line, his eyebrows furrowed. "Sena's condition…After that incident, her body is rendered to be considerably fragile. After all, a tiny body with a pipe protruding through should have killed her, but she managed to survive, the poor thing. I'm afraid that is she works out her body any further, death is probable."

The Anezaki's choked on their shock.

"You mean I could've killed her?"

The doctor's eyes widened as his attention was turned onto the small boy. The boy who decided to pick on Sena. "No, nonsense. You—you couldn't have…" he trailed off, but knew that trying to hide the facts was impossible seeing how he had already heard.

"But you said—"

"That's enough, Rui," his father said sternly.

It was stopped from here—everybody was in his or her own thoughts, except for the doctor who generously waited for them.

Sena could die or not. Who knows?

But still, Amy's intuition was right as always, and we'll see why another day.


	8. Gen

Childhood Relapse

* * *

Chapter 8: Gen

* * *

She sighed as she saw the sleeping form of the girl. The child was ridiculously pale, but of course, paling is the result after loosing so much blood. Oka was shocked to know that a tiny child as this one would be able to hurl large amounts of blood; it was a miracle that she survived.

"How is she doing?"

"Recovering would take some time, but she's doing fine," Oka said. "And don't worry! I sent a curse so that she'll be up and ready in no time."

There was a snort. "Oh silly Oka, your curses are always so magnificent, are they not?"

"If you're trying to be sarcastic with me, I'll send a curse on your way, Ponyo!"

"Well it better be a good one—I'm so sick of staying here," Ponyo sighed.

"That's because you are sick."

"I'm aware of that." The dark haired woman closed her green eyes. "How about Gen's father? I heard that he had another attack."

"Oh, that stubborn man is doing fine. I believe that it's his stubbornness that keeps him going," Oka snorted.

"I see, but you send curses just in case."

"Of course! Without them he would have fallen into a permanent illness!"

"Then how come your curses don't work on me?"

"Yours is too complicated."

"Figures," Ponyo huffed, turning her attention back to the book she was reading.

Ponyo has been a patient in this hospital as long as Oka could remember. It was such a pity that a beautiful woman should be confined behind white walls, but it cannot be helped. She was sick; she was fragile. Someone as delicate as her could easily crumble without aid.

As Oka stared at the child she said, "I can't imagine my son ever going through something like this."

"Neither can I," Ponyo said, turning a page. "But then again, I rarely ever see him."

"How sad, not being able to see your own child."

"It is, but it's not as if I can do anything about it. Yuuya took him to his hometown to teach him shogi."

"How old is your son again?"

"He should be eleven."

"That's the age my son is."

"What a coincidence. A fifth grader, right?"

Oka nodded.

"When they're older we should enroll them to the same middle school, that is, when Yuuya brings back our child and I'm out of this bed, of course," Ponyo muttered, taking off her glasses to wipe away a smudge on the lenses.

The nurse smiled. "I hope so."

* * *

A few days after Sena had awoken were a day after Mamori expressed her admission of guilt, crying that she was a failure of a big sister. After persuading her otherwise, Sena told her that she loved her and Mamori wept again.

"Argh. I can still hear that girl crying in my head," Ponyo grumbled, rubbing her temple. "I would've never expected a day full of crying and whatnot."

"Oh hush, Ponyo," Oka admonished. "No need to be jealous of Sena-chan."

"Who said that I was jealous? As if I would want my husband and boy crying at my bed." With that said, Ponyo shoved her face into her book.

The nurse shook her head. "Don't mind her, Sena-chan. She gets huffy frequently."

"I can chuck you either two things: my book or my glasses. I don't want to throw my book, otherwise you wouldn't get it for me and I can't walk. I don't want to throw my glasses because I can't see without them and they'll likely break. However, my small tolerance in my temper cannot be arranged, so I do suggest you would—"

"As I was saying, Ponyo has this malicious temper whenever she doesn't get her way, in other words she's a child in an adult body—"

Oka ducked in time to avoid a book being thrown at her.

"Ponyo-san threw the book," Sena said.

"It's like this, Sena-chan," Ponyo said. "If I threw my glasses, not only would I be blind but I wouldn't be able to read my book either. And even if I planned not to read it, chucking it at Oka's face would be useless because I can't even see where I'm throwing at."

"But now you'll have to endure her tantrum of being bored as I leave this room," Oka said, walking towards the room and ignoring Ponyo's "Oi, give me back my book!" verbal-rampage. "If you disturb the spirits that resign in this building, they'll put a curse on you!"

When the woman had left, Sena asked Ponyo, "Th-there isn't really such thing as g-ghosts, right?"

"They're as real as pigs born with wings, kid."

Sena sighed with relief.

"Not that a pig with wings isn't impossible, just saying."

* * *

A young boy named Gen often visited the local hospital ever since his father was sent there. He befriended the nurses, namely Oka, and the patients, namely Ponyo. The two women kind of scared him, but he liked them nevertheless. They were friendly enough, but Ponyo's openness was questionable. Perhaps if she suppressed the urge to throttle or snap uncouthly then she would be more…pleasant.

This time, his father once again occupied a room in the hospital. Gen was wandering idly in the hallways, managing to escape the deathly boring waiting-room and the eyes of the volunteer workers who were supposedly watching him. The teenagers were just chatting to one another, disregarding his presence and their responsibilities. Hopefully they wouldn't be volunteering for long—they didn't even bother distracting him for a teensy minute.

The hallways were filled with soft shuffling of his weathered sneakers and the distant echoes of the adults in the adjacent halls or rooms. It was a colorless environment, and the windows were scuffed with scratches and with dirt and dead bugs on the sills. However, he liked how the windows provided sunlight to spill across the floors and to the walls. The orange light was relaxing, and he liked relaxing. It detached him from the worries of his ill father.

And while making a turn around the corner, he crashed into someone.

"Oof!"

The collision brought Gen onto his knees and hands while the person landed on her bottom. They looked up and met gazes. Gen was surprised to see a young girl in a hospital gown.

The boy blinked. "Who are you?" he asked without thinking.

"S-Sena," she replied in a small voice, surprised as well.

"Oh…Well, I'm Gen. Nice to meet you, Sena-san." He watched as the girl averted her gaze onto the floor as a rosy hue was made apparent on her cheeks. She looked as if she was struggling.

"N-nice to meet you too," she replied, and then added, "Gen-san."

The children stood up, dusted themselves, and walked down the hall. Sena flinched when Gen was following her but didn't ask him why. Gen got the impression that the girl wasn't used being around new faces so he said, "Are you lost? I can help you. I've been here for a long time so I know my way around."

"Th-that's okay, I know where my room is." She glanced at him curiously. "Eto, were you a patient then?"

"No, but my dad was—or rather, is again. I come visit this place and made friends with the staff and some patients. You know Oka?"

"Ah, yes. She's my nurse."

"She's a nurse of my dad too, and we're good friends, but for some reason she likes to hex me and other people. I heard that they were supposed to be good curses, but since when were curses good?"

Sena smiled and giggled softly.

"How about Midori? You know her? She's about our age and always puts her hair into pigtails."

She shook her head.

"No? Huh, I figured that she'd be your roommate."

"I have Ponyo-san."

"Ponyo!" Gen laughed. "I bid you good luck with her then."

Gen was an amiable boy, despite his brash father, but it was likely that he inherited that sort of peacefulness and kindness from his mother whereas he'll grow up looking like his father. He wasn't usually talkative, but in this case it just happened while walking with the little girl named Sena. He talked about his strong and brave father, his sweet and loving mother, his times with Oka and Ponyo, the rest of the hospital's staff, the patients, and his school life. He doesn't have friends because he doesn't socialize much with his classmates and likes to dawdle in the hospital than do what other boys his age do. Those kinds of things never interested him.

They were still in their conversation even as they entered Sena's room. Ponyo set down her book to see who came in, shrugged, and returned to her reading. It was then that Oka slammed the door open and cried out, "_Gen_! I'll _**curse**_ you!"

"Eh, what'd I do?" he asked, scratching his head.

"Everyone was looking for you everywhere! It's time for you to go home, young man."

"Huh, wandering around again? Bad Gen-chan," Ponyo snorted teasingly.

The boy rolled his eyes and slid off of Sena's bed, then saying his farewell to her.

"Will you come back?" she asked.

"Yeah, sure." He smiled. "You're a friend after all."

Sena smiled back.


	9. Kengo

Childhood Relapse

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 9: **Kengo

* * *

His father died due to a heart-attack. His mother died the day after he was born.

Being only an infant, Aunty Po took him in. Kengo knew that he was an only child since the other orphaned children in the household had no resemblance to one another, and that Aunty Po was probably his actual aunt or a close friend of his parents. Whatever relation the elderly woman had with the deceased couple, she knew them very well. She would tell him stories about them, and he would become attentive, listening to every detail, and when she wasn't talking about his parents she would move on to another child's or herself. No matter whose history she told, Aunty Po made things interesting nevertheless.

Strangely, despite his parents' weak health, Kengo grew up to be that of a very physically fit boy. He was the fastest, tallest, and strongest one in his school and never failed amazing his classmates. Because of his abilities, the boys at home would fight over who would have him in what team since Kengo's team usually wins. This sort of chaos would occur in the household, and so Aunty Po would have to march up to them and send them to their rooms. The old woman would not tolerate the ruckus.

Anyway, despite living in a crowded home with a grump of an aunty and being abnormally tall, Kengo loved his family, his friends, his acquaintances, his life. Sure, there will be quarrels and hardships along the way, but that's just the way life is. And at the end everything will be better because he'll never give up and have his loved ones supporting him.

He learned this in his father's journal.

"_Everyone has a purpose, that's why everyone is here." _

"_We are called to be alive for a reason, and that reason is to not hold hatred or scorn but love and value." _

"_Each and every one of us holds a gift that was given to us since birth, and we shall use our gifts to further our purposes." _

"_I believe that when we were born, angels above would celebrate the beginning of a new life."_

"_We are children of a loving God."_

Kengo assumed that his father had a religious background regarding how he mentioned God in his journal. This confused the boy and yet made him even more curious as to what had driven his father to jot down inspirational quotes. So he asked Aunty Po.

"Here." She tossed a book at him, in which he easily caught.

"What is it?" he asked.

"A Bible."

"What's a Bible about?"

"How would I know? I'm not Christian."

Reading the book was rather boring, so he pushed his self-given task aside and went out to play with the others. They were playing baseball at a field across from a hospital. When Kengo batted the ball too hard, sending it flying over the fences of the building, everyone urged him to go fetch it.

"Alright, alright. I'm on it, guys," he assured them, giving a salute. Retrieving the ball should be a cinch—he hopped over fences like these million times before and it was seldom that he got caught. Additionally, with his athletic abilities it would make the mission simpler. Quietly leaping over and landing, he cautiously made sure there was no one around before by glancing the area, and when the coast was clear he spotted the ball and hurried to it.

Kengo smirked as he picked up the ball and was about to pivot back to the others, that till he felt a pair of eyes placing its stare on his back. He froze, afraid to look up to see a disapproving face of an adult who would make a stern lecture about trespassing and whatnot—this happened to him once. Knowing that he would have to make a move anyway, he held his breath and turned around (making a run for it would put a damage on his pride), only to see no one there.

The gaze was still on him, so he instinctively looked up and saw a girl peering out the window in a hospital room. When their eyes met she blinked as if in surprise. She made a motion to look away, but she didn't. They stared at each other until Kengo's eyes were becoming dry, so he blinked and immediately grinned widely, then vigorously waving to her and waiting for her rejoinder. When she did wave back (no matter how small it was) his grin grew wider, and then dashed out of the area.

"What took you so long?" the boys complained.

"Sorry, but I had to hide because there was someone there," he lied through his teeth.

His adoptive brothers gave him a look, but shrugged and plucked the ball out of his hand, going back to where they had left off.

Before Kengo joined, he couldn't help but think why she looked so sad.

* * *

White complexion, caramel eyes, chocolate hair, and a heart filled with melancholy. He couldn't get the image out of his head even if he wanted to—that girl from the few days ago was all he thought about…because she was the most pitiful thing he had ever seen. Never had Kengo seen something so heart-wrenching, and oddly all it took wasa glimpse of a hospitalized girl to haunt him.

Before, he believed that the reason of being happy was obvious: they were alive! They were able to laugh and smile and have fun and have company. They can enjoy the sight of the rising sun and the setting sun, the moon in the night sky adorned with glimmering stars, and they can close their eyes and dream wonderful dreams. Food, especially made by Aunty Po, was the best. And so was playing baseball with his adoptive brothers. And playing pretend with his younger adoptive sisters.

However, he was confused. What was that longing look in her eyes? And why did she seem to be...trapped? As if there was nothing in this world that can free her and let her fly. She seemed to want to fly and reach the clouds—what a dream that would be—but anyone can't just jump off and spread wings. Or was she yearning the metaphorical term? Perhaps she just needed to get out and take off to wherever she can feel unrestricted, like how a bird takes off to the sky.

"To be free," he murmured. Kengo eyed the Bible and then grabbed it, preparing to be indulged into its words.

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth…"

* * *

"Sena-chan," Oka said, handing her the envelope, "for you."

"Who is it from?" the little girl asked.

"I do not know. A young boy gave it to me to give it to 'the girl with the messy brown hair, pale face, and occupies a room that its window faces the garden.'" The nurse gave her a pointed look.

"I-I know, I know," Sena sighed. "I'll brush my hair and go outside more."

"Well, yes, you do that, but what I'm concerned is whether or not you're making late night visits."

She shook her head. "I know no other boy than Gen, Oka-san."

"If you say so," the woman said, suspicion fading. "I believe you, however if you sneaking out is true then I shall pin a curse upon you!"

"Shut up, Oka!" Ponyo, who was awakened by the nurse's shrill voice, snapped. Unfortunately, without her glasses and thus blind, she glared at the wall before her rather than Oka.

As the two women did their usual squabbling, Sena opened the envelope and pulled out the letter. There was no name at the bottom, but regarding to the hand-writing it was definitely a boy. She would have to ask Oka what this boy had looked like afterwards.

"Think of goodness and purity as you travel the path before you. The journey will be fulfilling, and will be riddled with obstacles and enemies, but never be afraid for you are not alone. Do not waver and back down from your path."

Beneath that paragraph was a sentence, "When life gives you lemons, make grape soda and let the world wonder how you did it"


	10. Habashira Family

**Childhood Relapse**

**

* * *

**

**Chapter ****10****:** Habashira Family

* * *

Habashira Raito, the father of Rui, was a man of good intentions. He was a moral man, a kind soul. Nevertheless, his sons naturally followed how he was when he was a youngster. In time, they too would see the wrongdoings they had committed and would become just like their good father. But until now, they were brash and temperamental boys.

Tokage was the mellower of the two—managing his rage more than Rui and was known for his boisterous laughter. He was a cheery and spontaneous lad, however feared by many he was recognized as the leader of his tough clique. Rui idolized his older brother and did what he can to imitate that fearsome dictatorship, and eventually he earned the same trepidation from the students at his school.

Rui was not born with a burly body like Tokage, so he had to rely on his long arms and swiftness. The boy grew proud of his particular aspects and continued to demonstrate them by rising up to power. His father often scolded him of such, but as usual he would brush it off and pretend to be apologetic for his behavior. There were times when he would wonder what his mother would say if she was still alive, alive long enough to see him enter elementary school and see his attendance award and see his new backpack and see how much he had grown.

Then one day he heard a rumor about a girl from the neighboring school talking smack about him. This ignited his fury and he immediately horded his gang, marching over there to seize her. It turned out that the rumor was false—only conjured by dimwits—and that his actions had nearly taken away the girl's life.

He would have been a killer, as his brother had pointed out.

The girl's adoptive parents said that she was involved in an incident years ago: a mere car crash—a disaster that had cost her biological parents' lives and nearly taking away hers. Kobayakawa Sena was _fragile_, _breakable_, and ironically so she stood up to him and fought back, despite how weak her attempts were she was persistent. And it was funny—whereas she was well aware of the consequences, she let her stubbornness get to her and momentarily shed away her meekness.

Now she was locked away in the hospital as he locked himself in his room.

"Oi, Rui, Dad and I are going. Wanna come?" Tokage called behind the door of his room.

The older brother and the father had been dropping by the hospital to see how Sena was doing. Initially, Raito was the one who was keen on these visits since he was obliged with responsibility for Rui's part, but he forced Tokage to come along. The father didn't bother Rui, however, knowing that he was in a depressed state. Tokage's protests ceased as his amiable self had kicked in after the first few visits, finding pleasure in meeting the girl disregarding his opinion about her being a boring character, but it was understandable since she was emotionally scarred at a young age.

"I know that you would keep on sulking in your room and ignore me, but I'll let it slide as always even though it's starting to piss me off," Tokage went on. When he received no answer, he snorted and headed down, muttering under his breath, "Sulking for a week straight—come on, Rui. Jeez."

He stopped on his tracks when he heard the door open, revealing a grave-faced boy staring down at the floor. "…I'll come," he said.

During the drive, Rui remained silent, just like whenever he came down for his meals. It irritated Tokage, but he wouldn't allow himself to loose his composure—he learned something interesting from Sena's roommate, Ponyo, and intended on doing what she instructed him to do. Keeping his cool. Perhaps if he introduced Rui to the woman, she might get a reaction out of him (she always had tricks in her sleeves).

Raito was once concerned about his youngest son, but was relieved when he decided to come along. This could do Rui some good.

* * *

"Yo, Gen!" Tokage called to a boy about Rui's age. Said boy raised an eyebrow as he walked towards them.

"Hey," the boy replied, then casting a glance at Rui. "A friend of yours?"

"Nah, my brother. Don't we look alike?"

Gen smiled. "I can see the resemblance." His eyes then became critical as he examined him. "Weird. I thought your brother would be as beefy as you."

"Ha! Just because Rui's not as big as me doesn't mean he could send anyone black and blue!"

"Is that how Sena came out?"

Rui clenched his fists, making sure his eyes didn't leave the floor. Even though Gen was a friend of Sena's, if he comes up with a snappy remark he'll just have to snap back. There's no way that he would play as the guilty fiend—that just wasn't his style. Plus his temper was on the verge of boiling.

"I guess so." Tokage shrugged. "Most suckers end up like that after Rui finishes them off. Anyway, where's Sena's room?"

Gen shot him a withering look. "Are you serious? That's probably the fifty-eighth time you asked me!"

"Liar! I've been coming here for only a week! How can I possibly ask you fifty-eighth times?"

The other boy snorted and began leading them to the room. "I bet Rui's memory cells haven't died due to video-gaming hours straight." With that said, he sent a good-natured grin at the surprised younger brother.

"Che. I bet you haven't come across the Boss at the last stage in Dragon Wars," the eldest taunted.

"What? No way."

"Yeah, totally!"

"How do I know whether you're making this up or not?"

"He's not," Rui suddenly spoke, startling the two boys.

"Well…" Gen trailed. "I still won't believe it until I see it."

When they were outside the door of Sena's room, Rui was weighed with hesitation. Should he go in? Should he not? What to do? What not to do? If he went in, he might scare the girl. She might scream at him and demand him to get away from her. She would glower at him with tearful eyes and tell him to go die in a hole. Then he would be angry—it wasn't his fault that he _liked_ to beat up people…It wasn't his fault that he didn't know that she wasn't the one who talked about him! It wasn't his fault that she was so weak!

It wasn't.

Was it?

A hand was placed on his shoulder, causing him to jump. Looking up, he saw his brother revealing his seldom reassuring grins. Immediately, he felt relief wash away his anxiety. "Until you're ready, you can meet her," he said, patting his back. Tokage followed Gen inside, and Rui heard their cheerful voices mixing in with a woman's and a girl's. Behind the door he could hear a conversation initiating.

"Where is your dad, Tokage?" asked a woman.

"He forgot the groceries as usual," Tokage answered dismissively. "Anyway, guess what, Sena?"

Rui's blood froze when he heard a familiar soft voice say, "What is it?"

"I'm on the last level of Dragon Wars! I saved the game since it was getting late, but once I get back into action I'll kick some Boss butt!"

"Oi, kid, don't you do anything worthwhile than video-gaming?" the woman snorted.

"Don't call me kid!"

"He's lying, by the way," Gen said.

"I'm not lying!"

"Who's that at the door?"

Rui held his breath.

"You got a good eye, Sena," the woman said. "So, is it an eavesdropping monster ready to pounce on us or what?"

"No, don't be ridiculous," Tokage snorted. "It's my brother."

"The fella who challenged Sena?"

Rui couldn't breathe anymore.

"Is he going to come in?" Sena asked.

Tokage grunted. "Well, he should be. I guess he's still hesitating."

Rui backed away. He can't do this. It was impossible.

"Oh. I wanted to see him though."

He stopped.

"Eh? Really?"

"Yeah. I wanted to say that I'm sorry."

"You shouldn't!" Rui cried, barging into the room. When all eyes were on him, he swallowed his fear and said fiercely, "You shouldn't because I'm the one who should."

Sena didn't reply to that. Instead she smiled and said, "Hi."


	11. Kongo Family 2

**Childhood Relapse**

* * *

**Chapter 11:** Kongo Family

* * *

In Sena's fourth year, guests arrived one day. Much to Sena's surprise, those guests were the Kongo's.

"Baa-chan!" Sena rushed into the arms of Miki, who giggled and hugged back the little girl.

"Oi, what about us!" Agon said, stomping his foot.

"I'm sorry that I didn't call before, but the boys have been so insistent on seeing Sena-kun again that, well, I sort of snapped," Miki laughed. "I hope that you don't mind."

"Oh, not at all," Amy chuckled. "I think it's nice for Sena to meet up again with the boys. Isn't that right, Sena?"

She looked up and grinned. "Yup."

Amy smiled as the children became animated in their conversations, as if in their own little world. "If Mamori was here, she would be having a panic attack about the one-eighty turn on her little sister's mood."

Miki blinked. "I'm sorry, but did you just say 'little sister'?"

"I did. Is there something wrong?"

"I…think that there is."

* * *

On the first visit, Agon and Unsui and Sena exchanged words about what happened ever since Sena had left the Kongo residence (Sena left out being sent to the hospital—it would be bothersome for them to worry). When Miki said that it was time to go, the woman giggled madly when she looked at Sena. The twins shrugged and Amy sighed and shook her head, as if she shouldn't have told Miki something regarding to a love triangle.

On the second visit, Agon complained about how he hated his mother's boyfriend, who apparently took all attention away from the twins. Unsui admonished Agon for his childish grievance; however, he looked equally solemn. Sena got the idea that Unsui didn't want to make his complaint aloud. This visit was also the day when Mamori met them for the first time, and this was the first time Agon hadn't flirted on a girl. He said that in an instant he had seen a female version of Unsui, much to Unsui's chagrin.

On the third visit, Miki appeared to be weary, wearier than before. Usually it was due to handling twins, but now it seemed to be a different case. Amy insisted that Miki would tell her all about it, so she did, and later felt immensely better. The twins were different too, but Sena managed to get them out of their silent state and soon enough they were all having their usual fun.

On the fourth visit, Sena was ecstatic upon seeing the Kongo family again, except that enthusiasm had diminished when she saw the withdrawn expressions on their faces. She saw how Agon forced a smile on his face just like how his mother had done so, and Unsui was staring at one spot. They didn't have much fun.

On the fifth visit, Miki was seen with a black eye and a bandaged cheek. Amy insisted that she would come inside, but the other woman dismissed the offer, saying that she has business to carry on. Sena didn't even need to pry because once they were alone Agon began blabbering about the things their mother's boyfriend had done, and Unsui made additions as well. The twins were very grateful of Sena's listening ear and her comments.

On the sixth visit, Amy convinced Miki to stay, and at the end Baa-chan wailed out all her problems concerning on how she as a single mother cannot support her two children and that she thought she could obtain a father for them, and so on and so on. Unsui asked Sena if he was pathetic regarding to how Agon was better than he—Agon was the younger brother while the older brother should be more competent. Sena insisted that whatever Miki's boyfriend had said didn't matter because they weren't true. Unsui, and including Agon, had never felt so reassured, so relieved.

On the seventh visit, Mamori met the twins again and offered that they could help her make cookies. The twins unwillingly agreed, only saying yes because Sena wanted to, and at the end they all were competing on who can make the best cookies. Mamori won, Agon was second, and Unsui and Sena had lost by default. Unsui didn't mind that he lost to his brother, only because Sena had lost along with him.

On the eighth visit, Miki told Amy that her former husband returned, staying only shortly, and sighed that she didn't know what to do, especially after she broke up with her boyfriend. Agon and Unsui reverted back to their upset selves, causing Sena to be worried.

On the ninth visit, Agon declared that his mother had finally gotten rid of her boyfriend, and Unsui, ironically, cheered along with him. The boys seemed to be in better spirits, a stark difference from the previous stay—it was also a change in Baa-chan's mood too. Apparently, she was feeling giddy again, and had presented Sena a pink dress, in which her sons had given her strange looks. "Mom, Sena's a _boy_," the twins argued, and Amy sighed while shaking her head. Sena didn't hear what Unsui and Agon had said, she was too focused on the pretty garb.

On the tenth visit, Miki giggled and gave Sena a tight hug when she had seen the little girl wear the dress that the woman had bought her. As Amy and Miki were off having their "mommy time", the twins gawked at Sena, demanding what was the reason for this. Mamori had came over and commented that Sena looked adorable.

"Adorable?" Agon snorted. "You got to be joking."

"Sena, you shouldn't be dressing up like a girl," Unsui said, frowning disapprovingly.

She blinked curiously. Before she got the chance to ask why, Mamori snapped, "And why not? Sena's a girl so she's _allowed_ to dress like a girl."

"No he's not," the younger twin protested. "Sena is totally a boy. Duh."

"You think that I'm a boy?" Sena's wide eyes glistened with disbelief alongside Mamori

The brothers exchanged glances. "But aren't you?"

It took two moms and two girls to explain to the two boys. Unsui and Agon eyeballed Sena with bewilderment.

"You're a GIRL?"


	12. Taka

**Childhood Relapse**

* * *

**Chapter 12:** Taka

* * *

Hojo Taka was eleven-years-old when he experienced something so thrilling yet so terrifying.

It began when he was kidnapped.

The boy was just walking back home from school until large hands grabbed him and shoved a handkerchief with a peculiar smell into his face, and he was knocked out. He later found himself in a bag, his wrists and ankles tied together and his mouth taped. Taka tried squirming out of his bindings, however, his efforts proved fruitless. Poking his tongue through his lips was more of a success as he managed to create a gap under the tape; unfortunately, the tape was still on his face.

The surface beneath him went through a sudden bounce, and immediately he recognized the vibration and the motion—he was in a car.

Unlike most kidnapped children, Taka maintained composure and racked through his mind of some sort of idea. What did most kidnappers do in the novels that he had read before? Well, they would take their captive to an abandoned building, tie him up to the chair, and initiate the torture—unless if the captive wasn't an agent being beaten to spill necessary information… Why would they need to take a boy as hostage?

Then it hit him. Of course—how could he be so oblivious?

Taka's father was the infamous baseball player, after all, and earned hundreds, thousands, millions worth of money. Just like the captors in the stories, they were always after cash. It was odd though that even the outside world knew about it—it was meant to be confidential so Taka would be able to live a normal life.

When the car finally stopped, the same rough hands grabbed him and hauled him over a hard shoulder. He heard voices engaging in a conversation but couldn't make out the words; nevertheless, he could interpret what they were saying: the plan to make him bait to lure his father to exchange money for him.

Truthfully, Taka was somewhat nervous. He didn't want his family to be involved, and there might be a chance that they would meet danger (the book he was currently reading had the hero injured because he tried to get his friend back from the villain). He also didn't want to endure what anguish he would come to face. Would these men tie him up with chains? Would they hang him upside down? Would they feed him to the crocodiles? Would they beat him black and blue?

Actually, it was quite different.

When he was set down and had the bag uncovered him, his eyes darted across his surroundings. He was in a corridor entirely constructed of what seemed to be glass yet sturdier. The lightings illuminated an eerie blue, which was founded from the metal boxes stuck onto either wall, and occasionally flickered like a flame on a candlewick. It was surprisingly cold; Taka would have rubbed his arms if he could.

"Is this one any good?" a gruff tone asked, startling the boy. Who was his kidnapper talking to?

"The kid is, damn it," snapped another voice. "You better take him, bitch—I ain't wasting my time hunting for brats anymore."

There was the clicking of a heel against the floor. "Hmm." A woman knelt down before him and took his chin, turning his head sideways in inspection. Her glossy red lips quirked upwards. "Yes, gentlemen, this one is good," she said, standing up and shoving her hands in the pockets of her white coat.

"Our pay?"

"Ah yes, here you go." The woman placed a thick wad of dollars onto the man's outstretched hand. "And if you could do a little more…"

"Depends on the pay."

"Of course. Now then, the doctor will need two girls and another boy. Can you do it?"

"Depends on how choosy you are."

The men had left with given instructions after taking out a knife and cutting Taka's bindings. He absentmindedly rubbed his redden wrists as he looked up at the woman who smiled down at him. "You're not going to run?"

He blinked. Normally the heroes didn't run, however, normally the heroes weren't boys his age. Should he run?

He didn't know.

There was one thing that he was sure of, and that was the kidnappers being the bad guys. However, he wasn't sure if the woman who they associated with was bad as well. She seemed to be friendly enough and had only hired those men to bring children here for…well, whatever it was. And she did mention about a doctor. It was rather all too curious and Taka wanted to know what was going on.

Shrugging in response caused the woman's smile grew. She let out an amused hum. "You're unlike the other children I dealt with. Oh well. Come along."

And so he did.

The boy followed her from the blue-lighted halls to more blue-lighted hallways (this time with more adults wearing the same white coats doing their business) and then to a different corridor. It was expanded by some meters with the ceiling going as low as the top of the woman's head. There were turquoise windows of per dorm, and he could see children in each with frightened or lifeless faces.

"No! Kyaa! _No_!" a little girl screamed. She furiously wriggled in the grasp of a man in a white coat. "I don't want to!"

Another man said to the other in a hushed yet audible tone, "I told you to bring the inoculation!"

There was a woman who pulled out a boy and gave him an injection, in which his struggles later ceased, his arms going limp.

Taka ran for the other direction.

The woman next to him caught his arm and asked, "Where do you think you're going?"

"I forgot to feed my dog," he lied. He didn't have a dog, he had a cat.

"Well surely it can wait." She pulled out the similar injection and made a quick jab. Instantly, Taka lost consciousness.


	13. Kazuki 2

**Childhood Relapse**

* * *

**Chapter 13:** Kazuki

* * *

There had been reports about missing children ever since Kazuki entered fifth grade. Parents who watched or read the news became wary and kept their sons and daughters close. His father, however, seldom comes home, and when he does he would collapse on his bed and immediately be taken by slumber. Too tired to turn on the television to watch the news, too tired to bother with the boy, too tired because of work…

Kazuki understood the hardships of reality at a young age: His mother left him (six-years-old), his father beat him in a drunken state thrice in a row (seven-years-old), he watched his uncle fall on his knees and wail when he discovered that his ill wife had died in her sleep (eight-years-old), he saw the downcast expression of his father as he stared solemnly at the picture of his wife (eight-years-old).

There were so much more he had gone through. Kazuki witnessed, experienced, and—in a way—grew wise. He also grew detached, but if it weren't for his uncle he would have turned empty.

He didn't blame his father for not being there for him; the man had his job to focus on. Nevertheless, there was an inerasable grudge Kazuki held against his father. Was it because the man never tried to express fatherly love? Was it because the man had inflicted pain onto him? Was it because the man didn't chase after his mother? The reason itself was unknown, or just won't manifest itself.

So Kazuki took it as this: His father always leave him alone in this quiet house of his. He didn't even consider it as home. It was too…vacant to be home. Too cold. Too forlorn.

One evening, Kazuki was feeling bored so he went outside for fresh air. He didn't even think about the kidnappers who could be wandering in his neighborhood and grab him during his walk. No, he just kept going on his way until he reached to another neighborhood. How far had he gone? He should have been more attentive than to walk aimlessly, absently.

"Mrrow."

His heart nearly leaped into his throat. Turning around, he saw a tiny kitten looking up at him with wide eyes. "Mrroow," she went again, and approached him without hesitance.

"Go away," Kazuki grumbled, making a shooing gesture.

Instead, she rubbed her back against his ankle.

"Ugh. Gross." Pushing the animal away with his foot didn't seem to work since she kept going back to him. Becoming rather frustrated, he picked up the kitten with one hand and was about to launch her on a patch of grass (he wouldn't really harm her, he's not that cruel) when voices from Kobayakawa Sena and Anezaki Mamori were heard.

"Why didn't I think of it beforehand?" Sena sighed.

"Oh, it'll be alright," Mamori reassured, "I'm sure that you'll be able to contact Riku some other way."

Kazuki, hiding behind a dumpster, would have snorted aloud if it didn't direct the girls' attention onto him. Of course, all the dopey dope could think about was Kaitani. Riku this, Riku that, Riku, Riku, Riku, Riku. Not only was it disgusting and annoying…but it also gave him a weird feeling. A weird bad feeling. Maybe if the tyke learned to shut her trap then there might be an increase in world peace or something.

"Well, maybe we can look it up in the phonebook," the older girl suggested to something what Sena had said.

"I guess so."

"Tell you what, once we get home, I'll scoop strawberry and vanilla ice cream and we'll definitely look it up! Together!"

From the corner of his eye, he could see Sena looking up and have a smile spread across her face. "Okay!"

Would he gag now if he had the opportunity to do so? Yes. Unfortunately, not in this situation. He wouldn't want to be caught by those two girls, namely the tyke. Recently, his interest in picking on her diminished and was replaced with eyeing her. There wasn't anything worthwhile watching the blunder wonder—she wasn't as cute as half of the other girls; in addition, she was kind of weird, like how she always remained silent during class. But ever since she came back with a new haircut, he had his out-of-the-blue curiosities. There was something different about her, and each day she seemed to change.

It was confusing. He used to not like her, thinking that she was just a mere loser, but now…Well, he didn't know. But what he did know was that the kitten was starting to be an annoyance. "Mrrooow! Prrrr…"

Sena tightened her grip on her backpack straps and quickened her pace to match Mamori's. Kazuki was about to go to the other direction until he saw a black van pull up by the girls. Puzzled, he stopped on his tracks and observed what was going on.

Suddenly, two men sprang out of the van and grabbed the girls.

"Holy cow," Kazuki breathed.

"Hiii!" Sena screamed, fruitlessly bruising the man with her kicks as he held her.

"Help! Help! Someone help us!" Mamori cried. There was no one near to hear them.

"Get the handkerchiefs," ordered the man holding Sena.

Panic surged in his chest as the young boy witnessed what was happening. His feet were locked on the ground, he held his breath, his eyes went wide, and every other part of his body wouldn't move. Fear struck him like lightening as his mind immediately registered the four choices he could do: remain stiff like a stick, runaway home and forget this had ever occurred, runaway and call the police, or he could do the stupid thing—pounce on the men and hope that they would release the captives.

Sure he had seen worse than kidnap, but it was happening way too fast. He was scared and didn't know what to do. He always didn't know what to do. He always didn't know…He didn't know why he disliked his father, he didn't know why he had a different view of that quiet loner, he didn't know why his mother abandoned him, he didn't know why his uncle continued to see the horrible nephew he was, he didn't know why his life turned out to be this way, and he didn't know what he should do in a crisis like this.

When will there be a time when he _will_ know? When? When will it be?

…Now…

One second later, Kazuki found himself clawing on one of the kidnappers' arm and shouting "Let them go!" He caught a glimpse of Sena's shocked expression as he continued to hang and swing.

"Little brat," grumbled the man. He grabbed the boy by his shirt collar and hurled him onto the hard, cold cement. There, he lied unconscious.

* * *

Sena awoke in a drowsy consciousness. Her bed, for some reason, was moving, bumpy, uncomfortable. Then she realized that this wasn't her bed but a vehicle. She blinked many times before being able to adjust seeing what was before her. She saw Mamori and Jyuumonji Kazuki sleeping, duct-tape on their mouths, and rope binding their wrists and ankles.

She, again, realized that she was also in the similar state.

"Mrrow?"

Sena's eyes drifted back to Jyuumonji Kazuki and then to his jacket. There was something squirming inside, in which turned out to be a kitten. Her head popped out as the zipper slid down and she gave out another "Mrrow?" Padding towards her, the kitten tilted her head and blinked.

"Mmmph!" Sena tried to say something, but the tape on her lips sealed any words.

"Mew. Mrroow." The animal batted her paw on Sena's ear, then busied herself licking her fur.

So much for assistance.

* * *

**A/N 1:** Just a reminder, this story is mainly about Sena changing into a stronger person as she meets or befriends new people. In the Kengo chapter, this shows how much encouragement Mizumachi had given to Sena when she was going into her depression and being hospitalized.

**A/N 2: **The Taka chapter must have confused many of you, yes? Well, that was supposed to trigger interest. And if this chapter made you even more confused, please stay tuned for the next update!


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